


Her name was Henrietta

by donprisciotte



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Abusive Parents, Accidental Philosophic Implications, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst and Humor, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Animal Transformation, Blood and Torture, Bullying, Canon Compliant, Canon Sociopathic Character, Canon Suicidal Character, Canon child neglect, Crack Treated Seriously, Crack and Angst, Dark Crack, Eye Trauma, F/M, Gift Fic, Grief/Mourning, Hair Braiding, Heavy Angst, Humanity, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inside Joke Fic, Miscarriage, Overly long gag, POV Animal, Physically painful to read, Prostitution, Psychological Torture, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Species Dysphoria, Speciesism, Torture, Unethical Experimentation, Unethical Medicine, Unfortunate Implications, Wild ride...definitely a wild ride, deliberately beginning sentences with conjunctions for dramatic effect, shitpost fic, the titular chicken is horny for humans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2019-06-14 03:59:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 91,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15380175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donprisciotte/pseuds/donprisciotte
Summary: "Unfit for duty.Apparently no amount of trying was ever going to be enough for them, for their unfair standards. They wanted to fight the aliens for the good of the planet, but oh, did they still have a long way to go when it came to fighting their prejudices.But as unfair as they were, those were the rules, apparently. And the rules said she was unfit for duty. Because of her…Condition, they called it."This is the story of an unsung heroine, who just like Leonard Church didn't have the chance to sacrifice in the Great War and lost a loved one. This is the story of a friendship. Of the truth about Project Freelancer.Her name was Henrietta. And she was a hen.TL;DR pfl AU where everything is the same except Carolina was raised by a chicken.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NeverIsADork](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverIsADork/gifts).



> This was born from my friends of the Cursed RvB discord suddenly asking me, their favourite Aiden Price parody, if I happened to fuck NeverIsADork's chicken, Henrietta. My answer was yes.  
> And what do you do with a lame inside joke? You write an even lamer backstory for it.  
> \---  
> NOTE: The story's tone tends to take a heavier turn from chapter 11 on. Chapters 15 and 19 contain graphic depictions of violence. Chapter 18 is the one with the most warnings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroine Henrietta is deemed unfit for duty. She feels distraught and rejected, but she is not the only one. This is the start of her iconic friendship with Dr Leonard Church.

Unfit for duty.

Apparently no amount of trying was ever going to be enough for them, for their unfair standards. They wanted to fight the aliens for the good of the planet, but oh, did they still have a long way to go when it came to fighting their prejudices.  
But as unfair as they were, those were the rules, apparently. And the rules said she was unfit for duty. Because of her…Condition, they called it.  
She moved her glance from her paper to the group of people who were going to suffer her same fate, for one reason or another.

  
All she wanted was to win the war and avenge her children, whom had been so brutally kidnapped and killed by the covenants. She could remember vividly each single, horrific detail of that scene, and even if little time had passed, she knew that those images would stay as vivid forever. That’s why she had to fight. But she couldn’t, and neither could those people.  
One in particular caught her eye: he was a handsome bearded young man in his late twenties, and did not exactly look the military type, he seemed to have extremely poor eyesight as he kept bumping into stuff even if he was wearing glasses, or maybe it was because he was so mad about the results that he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, but other than that he didn’t seem to have something wrong. Not as visibly as she did, but then again, only few were at her level. Still, there was something different about that boy, mainly because he spontaneously sat next to her and exchanged with her a look of mutual understanding, which nobody else would ever do.  
“Uhnfit fo’ duty…” he muttered in a thick southern accent “Ah’m gonna show ‘em. Ahllison and Ah will fight togehtha, no matter da cawst.”  
She gave him a questioning look, at which he shook his head.  
“Ah must be really desperate to start tawkin’ to ya this way.” he laughed bitterly “Ah’m sawrry.”  
“Leonard.” someone interrupted them exiting the main building and walking in the courtyard where they were laying around. It was a beautiful young lady, she assumed it was the Allison he had just mentioned. Allison had blond hair and blue eyes, and a warm smile as she waved at them enthusiastically “How did it go?”  
“Uhnfit fo’ duty…” he repeated.  
“Oh.” Allison curled her lips, trying to come up with a good response, seemingly failing to do so. She just glanced at Leonard’s new friend “You too? Well…Nice to meet you, I’m Allison, the girlfriend of this huge nerd over here. They picked me, so I’m gonna have to leave soon for a mission…Could please keep an eye on him? I’m like ninety percent of his impulse control and I have to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid while I’m gone!” smiled Allison, earning a cackle from her.  
“Nice cackle, you have, um…Do you have a name? There’s no name on your paper. ”  
A brief moment of silence followed.  
“Hm…I shall call you…Henrietta! Henrietta Peckerman!”  
“Ahlison…You’re tawkin’ to uh _chicken_?”  
“Why not? I talk to you everyday!” she laughed. Henrietta cackled again, this time so hard she fell down and lost a feather. Leonard picked her up and rested her on his lap, patting her gently and making sure she was okay.  
“If we evah get married and make uh baby, Ah’m gonna be tha one choosin’ tha name.”  
“Fair enough. I have to stop drinking and keep it for nine months, the least you can do is name it!”    
Allison grabbed her bag and put in on her shoulder.  
“Come on, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's more or less how much the canon characters show up in this work - their activity may vary, just in case you don't wanna waste your time (although due to the premises of the fic, if you really wanna read this you don't mind wasting time LMAO):
> 
> \- 17 chapters: Director Leonard Church  
> \- 16 chapters: Counselor Aiden Price  
> \- 15 chapters: Agent Carolina  
> \- 9 chapters: Agent Texas, Agent York, Agent Washington  
> \- 8 chapters: Agent North Dakota, Agent Wyoming  
> \- 7 chapters: Agent Maine, Agent Florida, Agent South Dakota  
> \- 6 chapters: Agent Connecticut  
> \- 5 chapters: FILSS  
> \- 3 chapters: Allison Church, Alpha, Agent Utah (one implied before codenames), Agent Georgia (one implied before codenames)  
> \- 2 chapters: Sigma, Agent Illinois, Agent Ohio  
> \- 1 chapter: Theta, Agent Idaho, Agent Iowa, 479er


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison confesses to Henrietta, who is now part of the Church family, that she is pregnant. She is very happy to become Aunt Henrietta.

As a few years went by, Henrietta’s friendship with the young couple consolidated. They were already in a stable relationship when she met them, but she had the pleasure to see them make an upgrade and live together. They had even taken her in with them and became her new family, she had nowhere to go and they were so kind and loving that she could barely believe it. The three of them lived in this very luxurious apartment, with furniture of prime quality and every kind of shiny object as a decoration, courtesy of Leonard who had gone over the top as he acknowledged his lover’s fascination with anything precious and expensive. Allison actually was centered around money and luxury, despite choosing a career path that definitely wasn’t going to make her rich nor comfortable, but she embellished her house and personal objects more sparingly, keeping it relatively classier compared to Leonard. But oh, her engagement ring had to have the biggest, most precious diamond in the whole universe, they all silently agreed on that even without having never discussed the topic. Henrietta was definitely looking forward to seeing them married and make a family, especially since she didn’t have hers anymore, but Allison’s missions were always in the way and while Leonard kept himself busy it was clearly bothering him and making him insecure. In fact, the problem was another.

“Hey, Henrietta.” Allison greeted her as she entered the apartment and closed the door behind her “Is Leonard home yet?”  
“Bawk.”  
“Oh, good.” the woman sighed with relief, letting her heavy bag fall on the floor and sitting on the couch “I need to talk to you. You see, you know I’ve been wanting to propose for months now, but never figured out how to make it special, and…It’s so important to me to be the one who proposes, because everyone keeps hitting on me and he's jealous, even if I keep telling him that I only have eyes for him, but…”.  
Allison seemed to have trouble putting the rest of the sentence into words, Henrietta tilted her head and gave her a questioning look.  
“ _…I’m pregnant_.”  
Silence.  
“Bawk, bawk, BAW-GAWK!” Henrietta squawked in both shock and excitement, flying for a short distance from the chair where she was sitting on to Allison’s lap, gently pecking her cheek as she shed a tear.  
“I…I don’t know what to think, Hennie, what if he says yes only because I’m pregnant? Even if I hide it for now, he’s gonna find out and think that that’s why I even proposed in the first place, that I didn’t do it out of love, rather because he makes a lot of money as a scientist and…Oh God, how are we gonna do with our jobs? Do I even have time to give birth? What if they need me on a mission? What if the war gets worse and the baby has to live in a world that’s even shittier than now? What if Leonard…? He said he wanted to make a family, but I…I don’t know what to do.”  
“Cluck-cluck-cluck…” quietly emitted Henrietta “Baw-gawk bawk, cluck-cluck bawk bawk cluck-cluck? Bah-gawk.”  
“You’re right. I’m so glad I have you here with me, you’re always ready to help me, and especially Leonard! He would be lost without you – oh, why aren’t you at work with him today?” “ _Bawk_.”  
“Oh no, they didn’t!” “Cluck baw-gawk!”  
The woman laughed and shook her head “Nevermind. So, back to…You know…Back to that, what do you think that I sh–”  
“AHLISUHN!” Yelled a really well dressed Leonard coming home, startling Henrietta with his sudden loudness. The hen jumped down the couch to let Allison run to him. “LEONARD! YOU’RE BACK!”  
She seemed to forget of her own condition for a second and lifted him effortlessly, laughing with joy but also nervousness as she suddenly remembered.  
“Be keerful! You’re goin’ tuh end up ruinin’ tha flowahs!” “Huh?”  
As she put him down, she noticed that Leonard had indeed brought a bouquet of flowers for her. And while red roses were more traditionally romantic, Allison preferred yellow roses, the symbol of her state, which Leonard remembered. Someone on the workplace, in an awkward attempt to flirt with her, had called her the yellow rose of Texas, once, mostly because her blond hair was such a distinctive trait of hers. Needless to say she not only was not impressed, but also beat that man up since he wouldn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘no’. After that incident, she had started nicknaming herself Texas ironically, and the joke seemed to be sticking, especially among her friends and coworkers. Leonard was one of the few people that were still allowed to call her by her name, because of their relationship. And right because of their relationship, she was going to bear any supposedly complimenting remark about her being 'the yellow rose of Texas’ if it came from him. But preferably not. Still, he was such a nerd that she expected it. What she was not expecting was the engagement ring hidden among the flowers.

Henrietta, on the other hand, seemed to have understood everything immediately. She was very excited for the couple and, while worried for Allison’s health, she gently pecked on Leonard’s leg to encourage him to make his move.  
“Haepy ahneeveuhrsuhry tuh us!” he smiled, practically shoving the bouquet in his lover’s face. The scent of its roses, however, seemed to be too strong and Allison just threw up in it. Leonard was shocked and remained immobile for a second as Henrietta led her to the bathroom. He followed them shortly after, still holding the filthy bouquet.  
“Ugh…This is not what I wanted.” groaned Allison “Tonight was supposed to be special.”  
“Ah know…” he muttered sadly “Ah was going tuh propose…”  
“WHAT?!”  
“WHAT?!”  
Allison turned towards Leonard for a second, still on her knees in front of the toilet, incredulous. Henrietta was incredulous too, as his coworker she should have noticed that he was preparing everything for this special day, but she was fine with him not having told her. Henrietta was truly a great friend, but she had trouble keeping this kind of secret, especially with Allison.  
“You were going to propose?! _I_ was gonna propose!”  
“You’re kiddin’? Ah’ve been plannin’ to do this fo’ ayges!”  
“What? Why would you ask me to marry you? I’m never here…”  
“Well, why’d _you_ ask me tuh marry ya? Ah’m nawt exactly tha myeelitahry tyhpe, y'know…”  
“Because I love you, dumbass! Wait…So it’s a yes?”  
“Y-yes.” he responded with a barely audible whisper, tears of joy running down his face.  
“Oh, Leonard, you’re so – BLEARGH!”  
“…Ahlisuhn?”  
Henrietta jumped and flailed her wings to keep Leonard away, she knew he was going to try to touch his now future wife in order to give her comfort, but giving her personal space seemed like a better idea. Also, she thought it was the right moment to inform him about the important news.  
“Bawk? Cluck-cluck-cluck bawk cluck… Cluck baw-gawk bawk. Cluck-cluck-cluck…”  
“What?! Ahlisuhn, whah tha FUHCK di'n’t you tell me? Wie’re havin’ uh bayby, yeet’s important, you shoold’ve told me! ”  
“I…I wanted to be sure first. Well, looks like it’s your turn now: you said you wanted to name the baby, so how are we gonna call it?”  
“Ah’d name her Texas, like you, becawse shie’s goin’ tuh bee badass juhst like you!”  
“That’s silly, but kinda cool, I have to admit. What if it’s a boy?”  
“Texas could be uh boy too.”  
“So that’s why you like me?” she laughed “Because I might as well be a guy?”  
“Yif you were uh gah Ah’d stiell luhve you, as lawng as you were you.”  
“Bawwwwk!”  
“What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?!”  
“Nevuhmind…Ah like tha theme of the states though.”  
“Yeah, let’s fucking name the baby Indiana Jones and call it day.”  
Groaned the woman, hissing in pain after Henrietta pecked on her arm to call her out.  
“Ow! Okay, okay, sorry. You know I’m not in a good mood when I’m sick…But I like the idea of state names too.”  
“Whaddya thank 'bout Dakota? It’s yiunehsex.”  
“Sounds like either a boy that would end up having his ass kicked by his 'friends’ or like a spoiled little girl who becomes a bitch when she grows up. Pass.”  
“Hmm…Could Jersey be uh boy’s name?”  
“Sounds like a dumbass.”  
“Oh! Myetch! As yin Myechiegehn.”  
“Would that be a boy or a girl?”  
“Ah have no ahdeah…Whaddya thank, Hennie?”  
“Bawk bawk.”  
“Oh, I got it.” Allison got up and flushed the toilet, then jokingly suggested “New York.”  
“…Yowrk _is_ uh boy’s nayme.”  
“DON’T.”  
“Wawshiengtuhn? Ah like tha name Wawshientuhn for uh boy.”  
“It’s a good name. Sounds like a guy who constantly has a stick up his ass, though.”  
Henrietta cackled in response. Leonard sighed.  
“Goddayum, woman, you’re maykin’ everythin’ dyefficuhlt. Let’s juhst stieck wyeth tha girl naymes…Jwohjah?”  
“Sounds like a bitch in a school clique. Or a whore.”  
“Flowrehda?”  
“Sounds like a hippie _and_ a whore. Pass.”  
“Vuhgeenia?”  
“Fuck, no!”  
“Maryelyn’?”  
“Leonard, please…”  
“BAH-GAWK BAWK!” Henrietta interrupted the young couple. She had an idea for the name of this baby, and she was happy to help. Aunt Henrietta…Yes, she was going to be part of the family. While she was still young, her health had worsened after the death of her children and she wasn’t able to lay eggs anymore. She was going to help them raise their child as if they were hers – they were, even if only a little bit, so the least she could do was helping them with the names.  
“Cluck bawk back cluck-cluck bah-gawk… _Cluck_?”  
Silence.  
“…That actually could work.”

About seven years later…  
“Mommy, daddy, look!” a little girl who was blonde like Allison and had green eyes like Leonard ran across the frame of the video, the place in the background being the park where they took her to play, tightly holding a now old Henrietta in her hands. “Look what aunt Henrietta taught me!”  
She lifted the hen above her head and aligned her mouth with its beak, and laughed at Leonard’s horrified expression on the other side of the device as Henrietta fed worms to her.  
“Caeruhlina! Nevah, EVAH do that again!”  
“Let her be, Leonard!” Allison smiled as he pointed the camera at her “If she wants to become strong she might as well get some protein! Isn’t it right, soldier?”  
“Yes, ma'am! …Mo'om! I dunno.” she shrugged, then waved at her dad as she noticed she was in the frame again “I want to become a soldier and fight all the bad guys just like mommy! Or a princess.”  
“You’re awlready uh pryincess, Caeruhlina.” Leonard smiled, as Allison took both her and Henrietta in her arms and placed them on the bench with them. “You staye wyieth awnt Henrietta whal Ah drahv mommy tuh work, okay?”  
“But…But I want to come too! To say goodbye to mommy!”  
“Don’t say goodbye, I’m not leaving forever! I’m going to be back from this mission sooner than you think, I promise.”  
“Okay…”  
“When you don’t say goodbye you’re not really gone, it just means you’re not here right now. And you know what? I’m going to bring you a present when I’m back!”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah!”  
“And you will tell me the story of all your adventures?”  
“Of course! Oh, Hennie…”  
“Bawk?”  
“Thank you. Thank you for everything.” she got up and started walking towards the car along with her husband “Please watch over Carolina and Leonard. And remember what I told you the first time we met? Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid while I’m gone!”  
“Bawk bawk.”  
“I knew I could always count on– Leonard, come on, turn that shit off!”  
“You nevah let me hahve fuhn!” he pouted like a child as he turned the camera off “And don’t sweah in front of tha chihld, fo’ fuhck’s sake!”  
“ _Leonard_.”  
“Aw, shiet.”  
Henrietta cackled. Allison shook her head and smiled at Carolina and Henrietta before getting in the car.  
“See ya!”

And that was the last time Henrietta ever saw Allison. Now she had to maintain the promise of taking care of Carolina and Leonard, and especially preventing him from doing anything stupid. She did pretty well.

_Then Project Freelancer happened._


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years and years pass after Allison's death, both Leonard and Henrietta become workaholics to deal with it, but someone has to take care of Carolina...

It seems like it all happened yesterday, Henrietta thought to herself, but time had kept passing and it was merciless as always. Things had changed since Allison’s premature death, how could they not change? Carolina could not wait for her and Leonard to recover, she was just a child and someone had to take care of her. Leonard was completely distraught, drowning himself in work in order to keep the pain out of his mind, and Henrietta was already very old, she too would have left the family alone very soon…But she couldn’t. She couldn’t afford to die, not while in such situation.  
_There was only one reasonable thing to do._  
She became a stay-at-home parent and took care of Carolina while also using the scientific knowledge that Leonard had passed onto her during all these years of friendship. She became famous for developing several apps, among the other things, that made her earn billions - or rather, famous for being the mascot, the discrimination against her species had become even stronger when humanity was threatened, as if chickens needed humans to survive. Leonard had offered to pay a bodyguard for her so that she could enjoy her well deserved fame as the creator of such important sites like Instagawk, Facebawk and Discord, but she refused as she was uninterested with having any recognition, so he legally took the credit but decided to honour her by making her the face of those creations and mentioning her being the mind behind it. Everyone knew about the genius Doctor Church and his pet hen, and it was a truly wholesome image, especially in time of war.  
Speaking of war, both had their own personal reasons to partake, and while they had been deemed unfit for duty many years they had found a way to contribute together and bring great progress. Which maybe could have never happened if they were not unfit for duty, maybe they wouldn’t have even known each other, funny how bad events could turn into blessings sometimes. It became evident when one day, while Carolina was asleep, Henrietta revealed to Leonard that she had completed a project that had been kept secret for years: the healing unit. This one prototype was so strong it was capable of partially reversing the subject’s age, so it wasn’t useful for the soldiers in the still ongoing Great War but it was a great base for him to work on, but she could use it on herself while he figured out a way to make a version to use on the battlefield.    
  
So now here she was, looking healthy in the body of a one year old hen, happy to see her hard work had come to fruition whenever she looked at Carolina: she had grown into a beautiful and strong young lady in her twenties, looking very similar to her mother except for the eyes and the hair dyed red, and had followed the military path that had inspired her parents so much. Leonard was very proud of her, although he had a hard time showing it – him being a workaholic led him to an inhumane amount of neglect towards her, sometimes to the point that if Henrietta didn’t feed her worms when she was a child she wouldn’t have survived, but in his mind he was just providing for the family, and that he loved his child was no secret. Although he clearly still loved Allison more. Nonetheless, Henrietta was very happy to see him channel his grief into something useful that could save the whole galaxy, it had been a while since the last time he had cried himself to sleep and that was already a good start. Also, Carolina became part of his business, Project Freelancer, so they could finally be together. Leonard was the director, Carolina was a soldier.  
  
As for Henrietta herself, well…She had to keep an eye on Carolina and so she offered to help Leonard, initially with the paperwork, now since the project had started a couple of weeks earlier already she was going to visit the facility for the first time. She was very reluctant about the matter, being the only employee of a different species, lowkey afraid of meeting some smug and amoral scientist willing to use her for some experiment or any horrible thing of that sort. She was very traumatized by the disrespect she had to bear in the past, but she also had to remember that now she was working for Leonard, who was a good man that loved her as a part of his family and who would never allow anything like that. It was difficult, however, to ignore her nervousness growing. Her first assignment was to pack the baggages which she found most suitable to bring with her on the spaceship and sell the house: the Mother of Invention, as Leonard named it, was going to be their new home. Theirs and also the home of fifty supersoldiers plus all the other personnel such as the medical crew, the engineers and the countless regular soldiers. Leonard was surprised by how many people had applied, but it was a good sign. He was very optimistic, for once in a long time of depression and despair, and Henrietta would have given anything for her family.  
  
She had begged Leonard to show up as soon as he got the delivery, but there was no sign of him and as soon as the personnel noticed her presence they put her in a cage and left her in a dark room with all those boxes. It was a honest mistake on their part, but it felt horrible, it gave her flashbacks of when she was found right after the death of her children. It took her a while to break free from that nightmare, but she made it in the end. And then she met Leonard. Yes, Leonard was going to come for her.  
“BAH-GAWK!!”  
“Henrietta! Gawd, Ah’ve byen lookin’ for ya fo’ EVAH! How have ya bin wyethout meh? Ah’ve myessed you!” yelled Leonard excitedly, violently opening her cage and hugging her tight as he pulled her out of it “Those gawddayumn suhboahdeuhnaytes dyesreegahdin’ mah ordahs…Ahre you okay?”  
“Bawk, bawk bawk.”  
“Ah’m so happy tuh heah that!” he gently kissed her on her head “Now, Ah know you’re tahr from tha trahvel, so you’re goin’ tuh meet tha freelanceuhrs tuhmawrrow. Ah’m shore Caeruhlina would rathah see ya yin uh gud shaype.”  
“Baw-gawk, bawk. Cluck-cluck-cluck cluck baw-gawk bawk? Bawk cluck.”  
“Oh, right, mah partner. Ah’ve not tawked much uhbout him, he’s uh little…How can Ah say?”  
“ _Baw-bawk_?”  
“Yeah…If you wanna put it lightly.”  
“Cluck-cluck?”  
“What? No!” he snorted “Ah mean…Hopefully nawt. Y'know what? Might as well yintrodooce ya to each othah.”  
  
“TA-DAH!”  
Leonard announced proudly as he energetically slammed Henrietta on the office table, earning a pained squawk from her and an empty look that was supposed to be either questioning or disgusted from the counselor. While his comparatively small stature – not that it was hard being shorter than Leonard, he often ended up towering over everyone in the room while attending social gatherings of any kind – did not seem threatening, there was something very cold and sneaky about that man. Still, she appreciated his neat looks, telling herself that maybe it was her tension making her form prejudices against new acquaintances. Also, her previous conversation with Leonard hinted that he was going to have an odd behaviour.  
“Ah said ta-dah, gawddamnit, now Ah’m goin’ tuh have tuh start ovah.”  
“Um, Director…Why is there a hen on the table?”  
“A-HA! AH’M GLAD YOU ASKED! THIS IS NAWT UH HEN!”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“Bawk.”  
“…Of course.”  
“THIS is mah loyal co-worker of uh lyfetihme! Cownselauh, Ah present tuh you…Miss Henrietta Peckeuhman!”  
“…”  
“…Well? Don’t be fuckin’ rude.”  
“…Greetings, Miss Peckerman. I am very…Pleased to make your acquaintance.”  
“Good! Ah thank she likes ya already.”  
“Of course.” he repeated, wondering how did he manage to hide the considerable amount of disgust he was feeling in that moment “May I ask what is Miss Peckerman’s role in the project?”  
“Whah, Cownselauh, she’s tha theurd party Ah’ve told ya ‘bout! She’s byeen very helpfol tuh all mah past endeahvahs, Ah’m pawsitiev she holds tha keye tuh ouah sucksass.”  
“Wouldn’t a human employee be more suitable for this job?”  
“Ahbsolutely nawt! Dahveuhrsity shall mayk tha group strongah! That’s anotha reesuhn whah Ah chose you as well.”  
“So you are suggesting that a hen could contribute as much as I do.”  
“Preesahseley!”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…Huh. You don’t seem too happy 'bout that. What are you, raycist or sumthin’?”  
“I’m not. _Racist behaviour would be very unprofessional in this situation, sir._ ” he responded with a tone of voice so neutral that the passive aggression went over Leonard’s head.  
“Well, that’s all fo’ now! You are dismyessed!” he claimed happily, glasses shining with some unnatural light and giving him an even more proud look.  
“Director, this is my of–”  
“DISMYESSED!”  
“I…Yes, sir.”  
As the counselor reluctantly complied and left the room closing the door behind him, Leonard nodded and patted Henrietta on the back, laughing to himself.  
“See? Told ya dis gah’s wieuhd!”


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henrietta's first day at Project Freelancer...Part one.

“You doin’ good yin theah, Hennie?”    
She woke up to the sound of Leonard’s raspy voice – after years of yelling it was a miracle he could emit any sound at all, his vocal chords might as well have been damaged but not only he would disregard that issue because he neglected his health, he would also keep yelling at everyone and everything out of pure spite when told to stop. Maybe his pitch had become less squeaky with the years, but some things were never going to change, Henrietta thought to herself.  
Yet everything else was new, now, she had a new job, a new home, and a brand new lifestyle altogether. As she realized that, she snapped out of her own sleepiness and remembered to address _the Director_ in a suitable way for a professional environment:  
“Bawk…Baw-bawk, bawk.”  
“Ah’m so happy tuh have ya heah! Did ya sleep well?”  
“Cluck-cluck.”  
“Well, that’s peuhrfecht! You’re awff tuh-uh grayt staht! Ah hope you’re goin’ tuh have a good tahm yin heah!”  
“Bawk cluck-cluck bawk baw-gawk?”  
“Caeruhlina? Oh, you’re goin’ tuh see heuh rahght now!” he claimed happily as he grabbed her and headed out of the quarters to the control room “You’re tha one inspectin’ the aygeuhnts from now awn!”  
“Baw-bawk?”  
“Whah, awf cohrse, Hennie, Ah trahst you wyeth anyethin’! Only one thang Ah have tuh warn ya uhbout: Caeruhlina must be treeted lahke any otha aygeunt and no wone must know that shie yis mah dawgtha.”  
“Baw-gawk!”  
“Vaery well, thaen! Let’s juhst go!”  
  
The Director pushed a button and Reveille was now blasting across the whole facility; Henrietta quickly ran into the room where the newly chosen supersoldiers were standing at attention at the end of their bunk beds, momentarily wearing every piece but the helmets of what seemed to be the standard armour rather than power armour made specifically for them. They were all young men and women packed in there together with no distinction of gender, much to their discomfort, but they were too afraid to ask the Director about that due to his…Peculiar behaviour, to say the least. However, the fact that they still had standard armour and no codenames yet filled them with the hope that said issue was going to be addressed soon enough since the selection process to find the best of the best was now complete. None of the soldiers had noticed Henrietta’s presence, not even Carolina – _oh God, Carolina_! Henrietta had always been proud of her but never like in that moment, to think that the little girl that she had raised like her own child was now such a beautiful and powerful young woman, it just filled her heart with joy. A joy that she couldn’t contain.  
“BAH-GAWK!”  
“HENRIETTA!”  
Everyone turned to look at Carolina, who ran towards the hen and squeezed her tight in her arms. Henrietta emitted a shy chirp, nervously glancing at the other soldiers, who kept standing at attention  waiting for the Director but were clearly alarmed by the situation. Probably they would have been much less confused if she was a person, she thought, and how unfair was it? Their silent judgment was heavy, everyone’s eyes seemed to be saying ‘what is a chicken doing in outer space?’. Why, what were humans doing in outer space? It’s not like they belonged in there more than she did, and yet it was so _natural_ for them to have such a mindset. She was grateful that Carolina didn’t mind in that moment to the point of showing affection, but she knew deep inside that it wasn’t going to be good for her. Some of the soldiers had quietly started chatting, and many rude comments about Carolina couldn’t but be noticed by the poor bird.  
“What the hell is she doing?”  
“Hugging a hen, apparently. And she gave it a name, too!”  
“God, that’s so fucking weird…”  
  
Being called an it always rubbed her the wrong way, she was clearly a female and had the right to be addressed as such and had she been a rooster she would have wanted to be addressed as he, those little things really said a lot about the human supremacism she had to put up with every single day.  And yet, despite how triggering that was for her to be seen as a lesser being, the real reason why that made her angry was because they were judging Carolina. _That_ was something she was definitely not going to accept.  
“BAH-GAAAAAWK!”  
She flew out of Carolina’s arms and right onto the shoulders of the soldier who made that last comment, a young man with longish dirt blond hair and hazel eyes whose skin seemed to be sunburnt, and pecked him on the nose.  
“Ow! What the fuck?!”  
“Holy shit, man, are you okay?” intervened another soldier next to him, who immediately got pecked by Henrietta as well. After that, she carefully jumped from soldier to soldier to make sure they had made the bed properly and that they had worn their armour pieces correctly, fixing any mistake as they reluctantly stayed still.    
“Um…Carolina?” a girl  called Carolina as she went back to her place, mostly trying to figure out something from her familiarity with the hen “Do you know what is going on?”  
“Oh, you see…Vera, right?” “Yeah.” “You see, Vera…” Carolina faked overconfidence as she tried to pull herself out of that situation “This is the Director’s mascot, remember? Henrietta Peckerman, the face of Facebawk, Instagawk, you know…He said she was going to get here a couple of days ago. ”  
“Ohhh, you’re right. I remember that. Henrietta Peckerman!”  
“Henrietta Peckerman?” another soldier, some boy called David, echoed “I thought that was just a myth…!”  
  
“Yeet’s nawt uh myeth, aygeuhnt.”  
The Director claimed sternly as he entered the room, silence and tension reigned. His angry footsteps were sending chills down some of the agents’ spines.  
“Ah have uh question fo’ y'all, yif you don’t mahnd…” he grabbed Henrietta as he paused dramatically “Syence yo’ yinspectiuhn seems tuh be dun awlready…WHAH THA FUHCK AREN’T YOU DOIN’ YO’ PHYESICUHL TRAYNIN’?! GO, NOW!”  
“Y-yes, sir!”

The soldiers obeyed and ran out of the room to exercise, then he gently caressed Henrietta’s wings.  
“You dyaed good, Hennie. Ah’m so prahd of ya.”  
It was so sweet of him to be that encouraging, she thought. What she had just done wasn’t exactly a good job, at least according to her, but Leonard – or rather, _the Director_ , was being kind and supportive. It was difficult to tell how things were going to play out, it was only the beginning after all, but seeing him optimistic was a calming thought for Henrietta. Somehow this reminded her of how much she was missing Allison as well: although Carolina had dyed her hair to establish her own identity, Allison was still recognizable in her traits and it hurt, even more now that she was a soldier. Henrietta figured he would be terrified to see his daughter, who looked so much like the love of his life, put her life in danger and possibly never come back, and yet he was supportive of her career choice. Maybe it was a way to keep Allison alive, or at least a proof that she was still alive in her daughter’s heart. For a second, Henrietta thought this was bad, a small part of her was angry at Allison for leaving the family and felt the fear of Carolina doing the same too, but then she suppressed that mean idea. She knew Allison deeply cared for her family, including Henrietta herself – hell, she was the one who decided to share the house with her! Regret took over the poor hen immediately. Somehow the Director had sensed she was feeling unwell and kept caressing her.  
“Ah’m serieuhs. You’re doin’ good.”

“…Director?” Interrupted that _unmistakable_ voice. The Director sighed.  
“Whawt yis eet, Cownselauh?”  
“Did the chicken just do the morning inspection?”  
“ _Tha chieckuhn_ , as you cawll it, _has uh name_. And yas, nawt ownly she dyaed  tha inspectiuhn this mornin’, shie’s going tuh do it AEVERY GAWWDAYUMNED DAY. Whawt weah _you_ doin’, bah tha way?”  
“I was inspecting the other soldiers, sir.”  
“Mh, good.”  
A brief moment of uncomfortable silence followed.  
“If I may, sir: since we are at the very beginning of the project, I would suggest that, rather than completely delegating the morning inspections of our agents to Miss Peckerman, you could show up as well. I’m sure it would help her get…Familiar with the new environment. Besides, a more present leader would instill more discipline in the soldiers, which is very much needed in times of war.”  
“Eggcellent point, Cownselauh!”  
Henrietta looked at the counselor, genuinely impressed with how he managed to obtain what he wanted by simply playing on the wording of his requests in a way that would have made anything seem perfectly reasonable. But then again, it probably _was_ the most reasonable solution, none of these soldiers would have taken her seriously. She was kind of glad of how much that truth was being sugarcoated, it made it less painful to see Leonard agree. No, not Leonard, _the Director_. She had to be as professional as possible. It was the only way to get closer to Carolina and watch over her. The two men seemed to be taking her somewhere else, instead of wherever the hell Carolina and the others were training – how was she even going to move properly in that huge spaceship, she asked herself for a second – and she felt concerned. But the Director knew what he was doing, so she just had to be patient and she would get to talk to Carolina soon. _Maybe at lunchtime_ …


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henrietta's first day at Project Freelancer...part two.

Henrietta had known Leonard for almost thirty years now and she was expecting him to act in a certain way. However, everything he was doing was beyond her expectations: with his excellent leadership skills and his very own distinct charisma, it was no wonder that he’d gained the soldiers’ respect, even if he had his fair amount of silly quirks. Silly quirks such as…Well, _her_ , for instance. She wasn’t going to leave, no matter what, for the sake of Carolina’s well being, but she was really afraid of disappointing him. He had given her everything. It was time to return the favour, she thought, but how do you pay back a man so sweet, kind and overall perfect?  
“MOVE, YA WORTHLESS MAGEUHTS!”  
She had no idea.  
“AH SAID MOVE, AH AIN’T TRAININ’ ANY OF YOU TUH BECOME ALIEN FOOD, WYEV GOT UH WOAH TUH WIEN!” he kept barking orders via the speakers as he watched the freelancers exercise from the monitors. They were all doing good, but Carolina seemed to be doing even better than everyone else. She was the best of the best and Henrietta couldn’t be more proud of her. To think that these hours of intense training were just the start of what her daughter – because she was _hers_ , after all, if only a little bit – was capable of doing.  
“Congratulations, agents: you have completed your morning training.” announced the Counselor “Breakfast will be served in the mess hall.”  
“DISMYESSED.”  
  
As the soldiers left the training room, Henrietta frantically flailed her wings, begging for permission to join them, at which the Director smiled and nodded.  
“Awf couhrse you can go with ‘em!”  
The Counselor on the other hand wasn’t convinced and objected, sounding painfully reasonable.  
“I’m afraid that would be unsanitary, sir.”  
_Unsanitary_. Space garbage was a reality but allowing a chicken in the mess hall was unsanitary?! Sometimes humans were just so full of shit! She wondered if Carolina would have agreed with that statement, for a second, and couldn’t quite make up her mind about the answer.  Maybe he was right… _God, why do I have to make it about myself everytime somebody speaks?_! She reprimanded herself in her mind. It probably was the trauma speaking, but Leonard himself was horribly traumatized by war as it took away the love of his life, and yet he was still pouring all his generous heart into the cause without making it about him. He was honouring Allison, the human race and also every other species on Earth that was unable to fight. He was a good man, and the Counselor was helping him, which made him a good man too. Besides, all the points he had made so far were good and they addressed issues efficiently, it was about the project and not about species. She had to trust him, because Leonard trusted him and she loved Leonard. And he loved her, they were a family.  
“That was uh yes, Hennie.” the Director interrupted her inner monologue “Peuhmyessiuhn granted. And Cownselauh?”  
“Yes, sir?”  
“Shut tha fuhck up.”

The three of them went to the mess hall and quietly sat at one of the tables, instilling a certain tension that rapidly wore down because of the lack of announcements. From what she had seen, the Mother Of Invention had with fewer yet larger rooms rather than many small rooms. On the higher floors, there were private quarters for the head staff, including a room just for Henrietta. For the rest, there were three dorms: one for the regular soldiers, one that was shared by the engineers and medical crew and most importantly one for the supersoldiers who, despite being only forty-nine compared to the hundreds of other people, were placed in the largest and most comfortable room. It was somehow a silent agreement that they would get to have their own private quarters, although it was still unknown how. Then there was the control room and also the training room floor with the observatory, of course, they had just used that. Somewhere else in the ship there must have been the showers, the locker room, the classroom, a common room, all linked by corridors. She hadn’t really seen much of it yet, her being so small didn’t help, but she promised herself she would get to visit the whole ship, including the side where the engineers worked and hopefully the medical wing too, unless it was too 'unsanitary’. Yes, definitely, it wasn’t like she didn’t have free time to do so, especially given her…Status. Still, now she was in the mess hall and she was enjoying staying there, so far: there were two long tables for the regular soldiers and the medical crew and engineers respectively, just like for the dorms, and there were many smaller tables for the special agents, plus the one she was at. Of course she looked for her little girl. 

Carolina was sitting at a table with three young men: one had blond hair and cute freckles on his face, he was the one she had overheard being called David earlier that morning; one was noticeably tall with a very bulky figure and had a shaved head, and the other one was…Familiar. Then again, humans all looked alike despite their efforts to wear odd clothes or change the colour of their eyes and hair, some would even go so far to alter their skin with tattooes or fake tans. She didn’t really feel guilty for thinking that, the most humans could do was being barely able to tell the difference between a white feathered hen and a brown feathered hen such as herself within the same breed, and most likely wouldn’t be able to tell two chickens of the same colour apart even if they were of a different breed. Unless they cared, of course, but most people didn’t. Also this one boy had brown hair, which seemed to be the most common among humans. Still, she had already seen him somewhere…  
“Bawk! Cluck-cluck bawk hawk-bawk cluck?”  
“Ah don’t know what you’re tawkin’ uhbout. Nevah seen that man befo’ tha prawjeckt.”  
“Bawk bawk…Cluck bawk cluck-cluck-cluck?”  
“His nayme is…Uh…Shiet, Ah don’t remembah, Ah’m gonna have tuh check–”  
“This reminds me, sir, it’s time to provide them their codenames. They are ready, now.”  
“Yup! His new nayme is Ageuhnt New York, Hennie, yin case you wanna yoose yiet. Oh well.” he got up “LYESTEUHN UP, SPECIAL AYGEUHNTS, YOUR COUDENAYMES HAVE BYEN DECIHDED AND FROM NOW AWN YOU WYELL BE UHLLAHD TUH USE OWNLY THOSE WONES, NO LAST NAYMES, NO FEUHRST NAYMES, NUTHIN’ BUT YOUR CODENAYMES! AM AH MAKIN’ MAHSELF CLEAR?”  
“Yes, sir!” they all responded in unison.  
“FILSS, DROP THA DAWG TAGS.”  
Not even the time to finish the sentence that said dog tags were dropped through some holes in the ceiling – which was odd, but then again, it was Leonard’s idea – directly onto the tables, some ending up in the plates, others hitting the agents and hurting them.  
“YOU BETTAH LEARN ALL THE NAMES BEFORE CLASS STAHTS!”  
“Excuse me, sir?” one agent shyly interrupted.  
“Yas, Aygent Pueuhrto Ricow?”  
“If there is only forty-nine of us and the states are fifty, why don’t I have a state name?”  
“Pueuhrto Ricow is uh stayte.”  
“Yeah, I mean…There would be at least two actual American state names that I could have had.”  
“Aygeuhnt Carolina is both north and south.”  
“Oh, uh….Alright, sir, but still, there is Texas for example–”  
“WHAH ARE YOU QUESTIONING AWTHORYETHY, AYGEUHNT?”  
“I…I…” he sighed “Nevermind.”  
“GUD.”  
  
Puerto Rico stayed silent and, seeing the conversation had seemingly ended there, Henrietta decided to jump onto Carolina’s table. Her friends seemed alarmed.  
“Is…Is she your friend?”  
“Yes, she is, David. Or should I say…” Carolina checked his dog tag, amused by his overly serious sounding new name “Agent Washington?”  
“Oh, good, how did you meet?” he asked, holding back a nervous laughter.  
“Bawk, cluck-cluck-cluck, bawk gawk bah-gawk, hawk bawk bawk, bawk-gawk, HAAAWK. Cluck cluck.”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“Baw-gawk?”  
“I…I don’t underst–”  
“My father knew her at work and introduced us, she’s like a family friend.” answered Carolina without going too much into detail, it was better to keep information about her family secret, being afraid that letting others know she was the Director’s daughter would have made it hard for her to make friends.  
“Bawk bawk.” she agreed.  
“I’m New York, by the way.” greeted the young man she found familiar, luckily he seemed genuinely friendly “Nice to meet you!”  
“Maine.” added the other one, not really paying attention to the conversation and stuffing his mouth with food.  
“Bawk…Bawk-bawk hawk baw-gawk cluck?”  
“I think she remembers you, York!” smiled Carolina “I told her about that one time we met at Club Errera.”  
“You did?”  
“I did!”  
“Oh, that’s cool. By the way, ” he turned towards one of the tables next to them “What are your new names, guys?”  
“Ugh.” groaned one of the people sitting at one table, the same guy Henrietta had pecked on the nose earlier “They fucking named me _Georgia_. It sounds like a girl’s name, I am not a Georgia, do I look like a sissy to you?! Why would they give me an armour with pink stripes?!”  
“Hey, don’t ask, don’t tell!” laughed York, making Henrietta cackle. Georgia sure wasn’t happy to hear that.  
“Oh, shut up, you’re sitting at a table with a stupid fucking chicken!”  
“Calm down, man, it’s fine, he was just joking…”  
“Shut up, Utah!”

A brief moment of silence followed, then one of the other two people sitting at that table, two girls who looked alike and gave the impression of being childhood friends, shrugged and smiled.  
“She is Virginia and I’m West Virginia, nice to meet you!”  
“I’m New York. These are Carolina, Washington and Maine.”  
“Hi!”  
“Hi.” they responded in unison, they weren’t really interested but they figured they had to start learning their teammates’ names since they only had two hours before class. Virginia wrapped an arm around West Virginia:  
“We came here together, y'know, and I’m so happy they selected both of us!”  
“Oh, and they gave you similar names, too. That’s nice.” added Washington, in an awkward attempt to keep the conversation going.  
“I know, right? This is so cool! I have always considered her like an extension of myself…But, like, a bit to the west.”  
“…Huh.” Washington didn’t know what to say “I see…”  
“So…” Carolina turned to the table on the other side, at which five people were sitting, three guys and two girls “What are your new names, guys?”  
“I am North and she's South, we’re the Dakota twins.” he smiled “Say hi, South!”  
“Ugh, give me a break!” South turned her back to them,  causing another brief moment of embarrassing silence.  
“…Don’t mind her, she’s just tired from morning exercise.”  
“…Right. We are Carolina, New York, Maine and Washington.”  
“Nice to meet you! Oh, I see Henrietta Peckerman is here too - nice to meet you, Miss Peckerman!”  
“North, stop, you’re embarrassing the family…” growled South through her teeth. 

Henrietta ignored that last comment in favour of North’s friendliness. It was nice to experience being in a non hostile environment for a change, she was making friends with the agents and luckily there were no repercussions on Carolina. She was afraid that they would make fun of her, but from what it looked like so far she was going to be one of the popular kids. Of course, she was probably the best out of the best. Henrietta was very happy that Carolina was making friends, and now those people were becoming her friends too. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking, she just…She just thought it would be nice if someone offered to be her friend, for once.  
“Oh, but where are my manners? I am Agent Florida, I’m sure we will become _great friends_!”  
Henrietta squawked with surprise. That was a scary coincidence. Well, maybe not a real coincidence, they were introducing themselves after all, but it sure had an odd effect to hear that man say those exact words in a tone that sounded almost flirty. Or threatening. Or both.  
Still, more friendliness! It was a good thing, was it?  
“And I’m Connecticut.” uncomfortably added a short haired girl, who looked like she didn’t want to be there “Just in case you were wondering.”  
“Nice to meet you.” replied Carolina, only to lean a bit forwards to read the name on the dog tag  of the remaining one “Wyoming, right?”  
“Yes?”  
“Nice mustache.”  
“Thanks, I grew it myself.”  
York and Washington laughed nervously, trying to make the situation less awkward but clearly failing. Wyoming continued, in his thick accent:  
“Oh, I was wondering…”  
“Shoot.”  
“Going around with chickens in space…Is it a thing that all you Americans do?”  
“Actually, no. Not really.”  
“I see. Then it’s just a thing stupid people do.”  
“I…What?”  
“Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to look for the cool lads’ table.” he announced as he got up and walked away “Pip pip, cheerio!”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“WOW.” all the agents at those tables but Florida were curling their lips in complete disdain.  
“I know, right?” he nodded “What a quirky little rascal, he is!”


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (in which Henrietta lowkey wants to fuck the Director) Henrietta's first day on MOI continues. She gets to know the Triplets and hang out more with Carolina, but she is concerned about Leonard's well being and can't quite form an opinion about the Counselor yet...

What just happened was an important, although maybe the only one so far, thing that Henrietta understood in that first day of work: _Wyoming was an asshole_. It wasn’t the most pleasant of guarantees, but it was a guarantee nonetheless, as her sixth sense seemed to suggest. She had a feeling that this project was too big for her, and couldn’t quite shake it off, but then again of course it was a big project, they were going to save the galaxy! And as scary as it sounded, she wanted to partake because that was what she wanted. That was what _Allison_ would have wanted. Fuck, it just hit her again. And she could only imagine how bad it was for Leonard. Poor, poor Leonard.  
As for Carolina, it was truly heartbreaking to acknowledge the loneliness she was feeling deep inside. She wouldn’t show it, but even when Allison was still alive she wasn’t exactly the most present parent and no matter how much effort Henrietta had put in raising her, Carolina didn’t have a mother. Feeding her, brushing her hair, telling her bedtime stories, taking her to school, listening to her ramble about teenage drama and boys she liked, all the things a parent does, Henrietta had done…But they didn’t count. Because she was a hen, of course.  
If only she had been human, maybe Carolina would have felt like she had a mother. But she wasn’t good enough, she was never going to be enough because she was never going to even have a chance. Things would have played out differently, Carolina would have been happier. _Leonard_ would have been happier, maybe he would have moved on. Henrietta loved Allison, she was her best friend, but what was holding her back from moving on was Leonard’s pain. Henrietta, although in pain, was capable of carrying the family, Leonard wasn’t, no matter how busy he pretended to be. Some days he had spent in bed, crying, hungover, without washing himself or changing his clothes; other days he was just working and working, if only just to avoid coming back to an empty bed, and Carolina could sense his sadness. And how do you explain death to a little girl, tell her that her mom is never going to come back from war and expect her to get over it when not even adults ever fully get over it?  
“Is…Is she okay?” Washington seemed utterly concerned “She’s been staring at me for a while, now.”  
“Mh?” Carolina waved a hand in front of her “Oh, she is okay, she just spaced out! She does that sometimes. You’re okay, right?”  
“Bawk bawk.”  
“See? She’s fine.”  
York seemed to be perplexed, although amused, by this interaction.  
“Did you deduce that she is fine or did you translate for her?”  
“What do you think?”  
“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking!” he laughed “By the way, how come you told Henrietta about me but you didn’t tell me about her?”  
“Thought you wouldn’t believe me.” Carolina shrugged, at which Henrietta wondered what did she actually mean with that response. At least, York seemed to like her. North Dakota too. Not everything was lost. When the conversation started going on another topic, Henrietta decided she might as well leave Carolina alone with her friends – being ‘the one that always a hen with her’ was not really the best reputation – and jumped off the table to get on another one. She opted for the one which had only thee people sitting there.  
“Woo! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…It’s her!” frantically squealed the only girl “It’s Henrietta! Be cool guys, be cool!”  
“Bawk?”  
“I don’t know, Ohio…” whined Iowa, or maybe it was just his way of speaking, he sure seemed unwell, though “Maybe she got here by mistake, or something like that, I mean…These tables are for four people, and there’s five squeezed in that one just not to sit with us…” he not-so-discreetly pointed at the table where North, South, CT, Florida and Wyoming – who had come back because 'there were no cool kids so no cool kids table either’, and the usage of a 'too American' word such as 'cool’ was already an effort on his part, according to him, just to make sure everyone knew he was an asshole, Henrietta thought – were eating.  
“IOWA! DO NOT POINT AT THEM, OH MY GOD! AND WE’RE FORTY-NINE, OF COURSE THERE’S GONNA BE A TABLE WITH THREE PEOPLE, STOP SAYING WE’RE NOT COOL!”  
“Shh! Don’t yell, they’ll hear us!” cut her off Idaho, shushing her with a finger on her mouth, accidentally elbowing his plate in the process, making it go upwards like a catapult and splash an undistinguished creamy mix of foods right in his face. Everyone turned to look at him. Henrietta pecked some of the food off his face.  
“Goddammit, Idaho…” she growled through her teeth “Why can’t you just– IOWA!!”  
Iowa stopped and looked at her like a child when caught doing something wrong, probably eating whatever that gummy mess was with Henrietta counted as something wrong “What?”  
“Uggh, forget it…”  
“Cluck-cluck-cluck…Bawk?”  
“Do you think she just insulted us in hen language?” bitterly asked Idaho.  
“I don’t know, I can speak turkey language but it’s not the same…” answered Iowa, earning some exasperated looks from both his friends and Henrietta. “Also, apparently turkey language and Turkish aren’t the same either…I learned it the hard way.”  
Enough meeting new people, for today.

 

Henrietta glanced at the table where the Director and the Counselor were, she had not really noticed what those two had been discussing while she was busy getting to know the freelancers, but it sure was something really important that was being discussed in a very professional way.  
“Where did the idea of state codenames come from, by the way?”  
“Ah, ya know, it was sum sort of yinsahd jowke…That’s whah Texsyes is reseuhved.”  
“I see.” the Counselor feigned interest, only to eye Henrietta with that unreal empty look of his as he saw her coming back to their table, probably plotting something, he always seemed to be in his thoughts for some reason. Henrietta wondered if he had noticed that Leonard had just gotten sadder, probably because the topic reminded of Allison, and came to the conclusion that he most likely did and just did not care. Or maybe he was just being considerate by not bringing that up in the middle of the mess hall. Hopefully. Leonard needed to be taken care of as well.  
“Oh, Miss Peckerman is back.”  
“Yeah, heah shie yis! How ya doin’, Hennie? Fyeelin’ cahmfuhtable awn your feuhrst daye?”  
“Hawk bawk!”  
“That’s mah gal! Cum sit wyeth uhs!”  
“Director–”  
“Louhk hah kyoote shie is!” he proudly grabbed her, lifted her up in the air for a second and placed her on his lap “Diddya see hah kyoote shie yis?!”  
“Yes…I understand cuteness is an important factor to our success.”  
“Ah…” the Director was rather unsettled by that response “Ahre you bein’ sahcahst–”  
“A cute mascot shall boost the morale of our troops and increase a sense of unity, even more so than our logo and motto, sir. It’s a symbol.”  
’ _No, asshole, I’m an employee just like you_ ’, thought Henrietta, but then again she couldn’t really argue with that point. Plus he was finding a compromise, although by being condescending, but Leonard wasn’t exactly the easiest person to talk to. Now that he was the Director and had all authority it was probably going to be even more challenging, so she had to hand that one to the Counselor.  
“Uh…Yes! Yeah, that was daefinyetely whawt Ah was goin’ for! Kyootness as uh requayahment fo’ aeverywon yin heah!”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“Bawk bawk.”  
“What? Ah dyied not myeen et lahk that…” Leonard awkwardly replied to Henrietta, who just started cackling at him accidentally calling his coworker cute right to his face. The Counselor shook his head, showing for half of a half of a second what seemed a very, very, _very_ vague hint of amusement.  
“Let’s change the subject.” he proceeded to bring back a proper atmosphere for the situation “I would like to ask Miss Peckerman if she would agree to provide a brand new system of communication, similar to her previous creations, but only for our personnel to use.”  
“Oh, ya mean lahk…An eentruhnet?”  
“Precisely.”  
“Huh…Sahnds gud tuh me. Whaddya thank, Hennie?”  
“Bah-gawk!”  
“Shie’s fahn wyeth it.”  
“Good. We might want to start preparing the material for the next class, Director.”  
“Yas. Ain’t nuthin’ left tuh do, heah.” he got up, Henrietta in his hands “FAHV MINUTES BEFORE LUNCH BRAYK ENDS.”

 

The three of them headed out of the mess hall. Henrietta asked to spend the hour and half of free time the freelancers were allowed before class with Carolina, in hopes of speaking to her alone. _Permission granted_. However, Carolina decided not to have any alone time and preferred to keep hanging out with her new friends, which Henrietta didn’t really think of at first but it was what happened nonetheless. She felt out of place, like she was smothering her daughter and not giving her space, there were so many things she wanted to tell her but they all seemed so selfish and futile now. She felt like a bad mother, being carried around the facility like a burden, they were showing her the parts of the ship she hadn’t explored yet, but it was far from a pleasant experience. Carolina’s routine shouldn’t have been that influenced by her presence. It just wasn’t fair. So she remained in silence for almost the whole duration, clucking only a couple of times and seeming very distracted too while doing it. Her thoughts were moving from self loathing to Leonard.  
Class was going to start in a few minutes and he was there, somewhere in the spaceship, sorting through the material to show his agents. The Counselor was there too, helping him.  
Henrietta didn’t really notice what his name was, but she was positive that even if he could understand what she said, he wouldn’t like her using his name. He seemed very cold. Welcoming, available, but still cold somehow. She felt she had to form an opinion about him as soon as possible, he was going to be the closest person to Leonard in this working environment and if there was any red flag that she couldn’t see, Henrietta wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.  
Maybe it was trauma induced anxiety, but whatever it was, it made her urge to protect Leonard even more intense. And she couldn’t stand the idea of this new coworker – well, actually she was the new one – creating distance between them. If only she was a person, this probably wouldn’t have happened…  
But then again, she thought during class, the Counselor seemed to be fine with her creations and by asking her to contribute he had just let her know that he had good intentions. And the way he could help Leonard teach the lesson so easily showed her they worked very well as a team. Yes, it was going to be good. They could be a perfect team of three. She could do her job as an employee and as a mother. Carolina was going to be safe with her. And Leonard, after all these years, was going to  actually see his family again, and be proud of the women of his life. Or rather, of that powerful and beautiful young woman that was his daughter and his 'funky clucker’ friend. Sometimes she wished she could have been more than just that. _They had raised a daughter together, after all…_


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (in which Henrietta HIGHKEY wants to fuck the Director)  
> After only a week of work, Henrietta's routine has changed for the worse. Courtesy of Aiden Price. Leonard intervenes...

It was an overall good first day of work for Henrietta. Carolina was happy to see her, the other freelancers seemed a very interesting group of reasonable and capable people that she could easily work with, and Leonard already defended her many times. She felt safe, because she knew he would never allow anything bad to happen to her. As long as he took care of her and Carolina and they were taking care of him, everything was going to be alright. Seeing Leonard try hard not to smile when Carolina excelled during the evening workout filled her heart with joy: she couldn't believe they were both hers, she loved them so much.  
The Counselor was there too, of course, and he was there at dinner time when they were on their own. It was not a problem that he was there, he didn't do anything wrong and was even kind enough to overlook the silliness of the situation – because no matter how much she hated admitting it, a hen leading an army of humans against aliens was silly – and trust her with an important assignment. Also, while she wasn't totally sure, she guessed Leonard had a potential friend in him. From what she could see, there were mixed signals, such as the excessively formal tone even when they were alone paired with some rare but remarkable (mostly for being awkward, but remarkable nonetheless) attempts at loosening up. She could tell they wanted to see each other's human side without taking the responsibility of doing something about it. Could that be?  
Henrietta shook her head. Now, _that_ was silly, how many speculations had she made only that day? God, she hated herself so much for that. Who the hell is ever right while trying to read people after knowing them for only one day? That's absolutely insane, she thought.  
Luckily, the third wheel left after dinner to do a couple of counseling sessions with the soldiers. Finally some alone time with Leonard! She couldn't even remember how much it had been since the last time they cuddled. He was so sweet and loving, always carrying her everywhere, patting and kissing her head, caressing her wings, being proud of her despite what everyone else thought. She hoped those moments could last forever. But unfortunately _someone_ had to knock.  
“Director?”  
Suddenly all the carefulness in trying to form an opinion was gone and Henrietta decided she hated that guy.  
“Cluck-cluck-cluck...Bawk gawk.”  
“Hennie, don't be rouhde, wyee're in tha workplace.” he allowed the Counselor in “Whawt yis yit?”  
“You may want to sit down.” “Bahd nyuwus?” “Nothing that we can't handle.”  
“Awlrahght, then, shoot.” he shrugged pretending not to care, sat down with Henrietta on his lap, nervously ran his fingers through her feathers.  
“The UNSC responded to our message and confirmed the previous decision.”  
“Fuhck those gahs.”  
“Indeed.”  
“Bah-gawk bawk?” Henrietta was confused “Cluck-cluck-cluck...”  
“Fuhckin' you-an-ass-see desahded tuh gyeve us only wone ay-ah tuh eggsperyement awn. No madah hah much muhnney we pay 'em. We need moah!” he sighed and then looked up at the Counselor “Whaddya suhggest?”  
“Well...Our selection process is complete, we chose the most capable soldiers for our project, so we might as well test them.”  
“Ah ain't followin' ya. Wheah ahre you goin' wyeth this?”  
“As we already mentioned in class, the new suits of armour are ready, and each one is specifically designed to enhance the abilities of the assigned agent, as they all have different skill sets. With this premise, they might become...Curious about each other's abilities and have more...Interest in proving their loyalty to the project. Inevitably, some performances will be more satisfying than others.”  
“Filterin' prawcess?”  
“Yes. The best candidate will receive the AI. We cannot afford to waste it.”  
“Faehr enah. Syeems lahk the ownley solushohn tuh me. Hennie?”  
“...Bawk.”  
“Whawt yis it? Y'ain't cunvyenced or sumthin'?”  
  
Again, she had mixed feelings. The idea was good, she couldn't deny it, and selecting the best among the best in order to trust them with the project's most precious resource was the most logical solution to come up with, but...The Counselor seemed to choose his words very carefully whenever he spoke, and the way he presented said solution was odd to say the least. It was...Creepy? Threatening? _It's fucking weird for sure_ , Henrietta thought to herself. But he had also pissed her off by interrupting her alone time with Leonard, and that obfuscated her more rational side, so she had to give up and admit it was just her being overdramatic, as always.  
“I assume Miss Peckerman would like to remind us the importance of having multiple plans in order to be prepared for every eventuality.” he glanced down to Henrietta with those unnervingly empty eyes “Suggestions are always welcome.”  
There. He did it again. Fucking condescending assh-- no! No, it was her fault. What he just said was perfectly reasonable and she didn't want to dislike him. She was going to get along with him, no matter the cost, she had to for the sake of the project. For Leonard. For Carolina. He wasn't going to be an asshole, she was just afraid, of course with her reasons, but she had to trust him. Everything was going to be fine.  
  
A week passed and everything was bullshit. She didn't know how, but _that fucker_ with all his annoyingly reasonable answers to everything talked himself out of any accusation of mistreating her, and in so little time he managed to cut her out almost completely. The agents were already competitive to begin with and this new system was going to make it unnecessarily unhealthy – finding the perfect candidate was one thing, taking advantage of the situation was another. That man seemed way too eager to test the relationship the freelancers had with one another, as if they were his toys, and how horrible was that? She figured that as most scientists he would only reserve that treatment to those of another species, to 'animals', but apparently he thought people were fun to observe and he would justify himself saying he was just doing his job like everyone else. Didn't sound like a human supremacist so far, but...All Henrietta had to do now was the morning inspection of the other soldiers, and as for the meetings she just had to be there and no one listened to her, or at least he didn't. _That motherfucker better not hurt Carolina_ , she thought. She kept those feelings to herself, as they were not rational thoughts based on facts, rather they were a vibe she could feel, but God was she worried. She really wanted to talk about it with Leonard, but he seemed to know the Counselor more, at least a little bit, and wasn't wary of him. Also, as a human he definitely knew better about human behaviour than she did. He would somehow fix that, but she didn't expect him to bring it up. However, one fine morning between breakfast and class...

“Cownselauh, haeve you notyeced anythin' dyeffrent layteley?”  
“Several things, actually. For instance, we might want to consider that the stronger relationship among our lowest ranking freelancers could be an issue: agents Connecticut and Washington, who are in our top ten, are bonding with our three worst agents, Ohio, Idaho and Iowa, who are so close they have been nicknamed 'the triplets' by the whole facility. We wouldn't want some unconvenient friendships to prevent our agents from expressing their full potential. There is an important reason why we are giving importance to the competitive aspect, and I think we should act wisely in this regard.”  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold awn, Ah wasn't refeuhrrin' to any of that craehp, whawt Ah meauhnt was--”  
“...Although these new interactions might have something to do with agent Iowa winning the tide pod challenge, which was objectively impressive.”  
“Nevah fuhckin' yinteuhrrahpt meh aygaen when Ah speak.”  
“Sorry, sir.”  
“Eh. Nevahmahnd. Anyeway, heah's tha deuhl.” he grabbed Henrietta, who was hiding out of sight, and slammed her onto one of the desks of the classroom, at which she squawked “You got uh prohbleuhm wyef mah lawng tahm pahrtneuhr, Cownselauh?”  
“I...I beg your pardon?”  
“You heauhrd me. Do you haeve uh prohbleuhm wyeth Haenrwehtta?!”  
“No...I do not.”  
“Ahre you shoure?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Oh yeah? Heh.” he smirked “Tahch her.”  
“...Excuse me?!”  
“TAHCH. THA HEN. COWNSELAUH.”  
“Director--”  
“DO ET.”  
“May I ask why?”  
“BECAWSE AH SAED SO.”  
“I assure you I do not have a problem with Miss Peckerman.”  
“Then fawllow mah owrders.” he roughly took the Counselor's hand, at which he didn't change his expression – of course he didn't – but emitted some soft alarmed gasp, and placed it on top of Henrietta, pressing it and guiding it with his own.  
As awkward as the situation was, Henrietta was oddly pleased with those hands roaming all the way long her back, running through her feathers and occasionally entangling on top of her.  
“Bah- _gawk_.”  
“Mmmm, shie's lahvin' yieet. Gud gal...”  
“Um...Director?”  
“Shhh...” he shushed him with his free hand “Douhn't woahrray, you're doin' greayt.”  
Henrietta seemed to agree “Bawk...Cluck-cluck-cluck...”

 

Too bad somebody walked in right in that moment.  
“Oh...Excuse me.”  
“Gawddayum, Flowreda!” he groaned “Whaddya want? Y'ain't suppowsed tuh be heah.”  
“What the Director is trying to say” the Counselor got off that compromising position “is that class starts in half an hour, Agent Florida. You are early. Please go enjoy the rest of your free time.”  
“Did I...interrupt something?” Florida was another one, Henrietta thought, whose tone was always somewhat creepy, he always seemed to be a threat wrapped in a flirty and oddly suggestive behaviour, although this one time he possibly had a reason, as he walked in during a very...Peculiar action, to say the least. She didn't mind that interpretation, she loved Leonard with all her heart, and although she was developing a dislike for the Counselor, she thought he was handsome and noticed he had a pleasantly soft skin...  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Bawk?”  
“Well, then,” Florida shrugged and laughed in slight embarrassment “time for me to hit the road! With your permission, of course.”  
“...Peuhmyesshun granted. GO. NOW!”  
“Yes, sir!”  
  
As Florida got out of the classroom, an embarrassing silence reigned.  
“You're gawnna slyeep wyeth heuh, tuhnaht. Ah want maeggseemum cummyewnyekayshun!”  
The Counselor clearly wasn't happy about that order but he decided to agree to avoid another moment like the one that just ended.  
“Yes, Director.”  
“Bah tha waye...Tahd pawd chaelleuhnge? YOU MAYDE MAH AYGEUHNTS DO THE TAHD PAWD CHAELLEUHNGE?”  
“...I thought it would be a nice test.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Do we haeve uh veedeo fo' that?”  
The Counselor pointed at the main screen of the classroom. “It's already on, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW this was very painful to read. A part of me died while writing this.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our lovely (?) counselor Aiden Price gets himself in trouble for not getting along with Henrietta. Misunderstandings ensue. Cue fanart by Agent Florida. Henrietta's neverending inner melodrama won't stop her from being thirsty.

The lesson was catching all the top group agents’ interest. Henrietta was truly impressed with Leonard’s talent in teaching, for someone who had been bullied and had to face self esteem issues he appeared very confident and charismatic. Sometimes it’s amazing how much love can fix a broken person, she thought, Allison really gave him a new life when they got together. Her heart felt warm for a second, until she remembered. _Fifteen years_. God, it had already been fifteen years since Allison left them. Why was it almost like she was there with them, as if nothing ever happened, and then the tragedy came back all of a sudden? Why was it so hard to get used to? Fifteen years were a painfully long time, she should have figured out a way to cope by now, but she didn’t find it yet. Of course, neither did Leonard, but if she found the key, whatever it was, she would have helped him who was in so much more pain. But there was nothing that a useless hen could do. Even worse, even if she could do something, it wouldn’t count. Fifteen years of raising Carolina never seemed to count either, after all.  
It wasn’t Leonard’s fault, she knew he was grateful for everything she was doing, but it still hurt. No matter how much she helped him, she could never heal him, because Allison was the love of his life and no one could ever compete with her, not even now that she was dead. Especially now that she was dead. Allison gave them everything, and the only one who had a reason to feel otherwise was Carolina.  Yet Carolina was acting mature without letting personal problems get in the way, and Henrietta should have learned from that. All that strength, Carolina had definitely taken after her mother, though. Had the situation been reversed, Allison would have responded better. If only Leonard died instead of her, she – no, _what the fuck?!_ Henrietta violently shook her head. Did she just wish for her best friend to die?! That was horrible. Horrible to say the least. Why the hell would she even dare think something like that? They should have _both_ survived, lead a happy life, the first one who had to go was Henrietta herself, because that is just how nature works. She was really ashamed of the thoughts that were racing through her head: Allison loved Leonard just as much as he loved her, she just wasn’t as good at expressing it, and even then she was the one who gave Henrietta her name and made a family with her, she was the one who went on a mission to save the galaxy. What was her fault, exactly? Dying? It was a risk she was willing to take, and as inconsiderate as it was, Henrietta and Leonard were the last ones who could argue with it, because they were ready to die in war as well, had they been good enough. Sometimes it was just easier to think Allison didn’t reciprocate the love her family felt for her because it would justify being angry at her for leaving. But she didn’t really leave, she didn’t say goodbye. She said she was going to come back soon. She just…Forgot to survive.  
And now there they were, the rest of the family was still at war, the very same war that took her away from them. No wonder Leonard was so invested in the project. As for Carolina, well…She could see where her father was going, and helping the cause would have allowed her to stay close to him. For what they could do, the family was reunited.  
Agent York was there as well, he seemed a very nice young man and Henrietta was glad to see Carolina with him. She wondered if they were going to get married one day. Maybe she was going a bit too fast, she knew, but it would have made her happy if it happened. However, the fact that he was there reminded her some uncomfortable detail: the leaderboard. So far, the classes were divided  following the alphabetic order, from Alabama to Minnesota and then from Mississippi to Wyoming, but now thanks to the leaderboard there were more groups consisting of a smaller number of agents. This one class was for the top ten agents. Carolina was a stable number one, followed by York. Other ‘single digits’ whose position was fluctuating with every passing day were Wyoming, Washington, Maine and the Dakota twins. The stable eighth, ninth and tenth positions were respectively occupied by Connecticut, Georgia and Florida. She was glad they were all interested in what Leonard – ahem, _the Director_ was explaining, all listening very carefully instead of minding their own business. It was going to be a very satisfying couple of hours.  
“THAT  IS AWLL, CLASS IS DIZMYESSED.”  
Oh, it was over already? Man, she must’ve not paid attention to the time passing. While the freelancers headed to the mess hall, she had to witness this very awkward lunch in which both Leonard and the Counselor were completely silent, eating distractedly while they did what looked like proofreading material. She wondered how could she be of assistance, since they seemed to do well without her.  
“Cluck…Bah-gawk hawk bawk?”  
“Nuthin’ much, Hennie. Uhnfohrchunayteley, we can only kyeep waytin’ whahl we gahthah moah matyeriaeuhl. Gawnna take uh lawng tahm befo’ Ah get mah ay-ah, let’s just fokyuhs awn the aygeuhnts.”  
“Cluck…Hawk bawk bawk?”  
“Oh, Caeruhlahna’s doin’ juhst fahn.” he replied without really paying attention, which mildly irritated her. Work was important, but showing some pride for his daughter wouldn’t have killed anyone… “Gawddayum.” he interrupted himself with a yawn “Ah di'n’t slyep well tuhnaht. Mahnd yif Ah go lay dahn uh bit? Lunch brayke’s ovah, Ah’m goin’ tuh…Yoose this free tahm befoh eeveuhnin’ traynin’ tuh reecawvah.”  
“Of course.” replied the Counselor “Please get some rest. I’ll make sure all the material is ready in time.”  “Gud.”  
“With your permission, sir-” “Nawt so fast, Cownselauh.”  
Not even the time to let him answer that he shoved Henrietta into his arms, leaving both of them confused. “Work tuhgetha. You two bettah get uhlawng for when Ah’m back.”  
“…Yes, sir.”  
“Dismyessed.”

 

Henrietta was surprised at how gently she was being handled on the way to the Counselor’s office. She expected him to treat her badly, somehow; as hard as it was to tell whatever he felt about the matter, or if he had any feelings in general to begin with, she figured he would dislike her. Then again, this was the first time ever she was alone with him, so the time to verify it had arrived. She got free of his grip and jumped onto the desk, much to his discomfort.  
“ _Bawk_.”  
He just sighed and put her down on the floor, then had the _insolence_ to clean his desk because she made it 'filthy’ for _two whole seconds_. Fucking incredible. Now she was morally obliged to get back on that desk to assert dominance.  
“ _Hawk bawwwwk?_ ” she provoked him, had she had lips she would have directed at him what humans called a shit eating grin.  He narrowed his eyes a little, internally debating on whether to gently place her on the floor or just straight up push her down. He went for the latter option and let out some faint hum in delight as he heard the thud and the pained squawking. Asshole.  
Henrietta got back up immediately and made sure to place herself on the exact center of the desk. All she got in response was a hint of what could have become an eye roll had he cared enough, God forbid that motherfucker showed some vaguely human mannerisms, until he calmly spoke:  
“I do not have time to deal with your petty behaviour.”  
He placed some material, mainly a tablet with some printed documents and a notebook, on the part of the desk which her small body couldn’t cover and just sat there to work on it, much to her annoyance. How immature was that? _I’m going to flail my wings as hard as I can and knock all his shit off this table_ , she thought. She proceeded to do so but the Counselor blocked her holding her down. She calmed down a little, maybe she was the one being unnecessarily mean. She decided to spend that time looking around in order to find out something about him – sure, he was the one trained in psychology, but a good work relationship is a two way street and she had to do her part.

  
Everything was clean and almost obsessively neatened up, not that there was much furniture or even room for it, it was a surprisingly small place considered it was for someone who had such a relevant role in the project. There was just the desk with a chair on one end and what looked like a really comfortable armchair for the patients on the other end, plus a few shelves with folders and several books, the latter were mostly meant for decorating rather than being used. She liked to think those were his old textbooks that he brought with him because they held a sentimental value, or something like that, there _had_ to be something. The colours he seemed to have used more for the folders were, besides the dull grey and black ones that _obviously_ were there, dark cold colours such as indigo and navy blue, and maybe a couple of dark purple ones. She didn’t really know what this said about his personality, but clearly she had to go to his private quarters to see him loosen up, if only accidentally by 'misplacing’ something. Decorating the walls there was a board with the usual annoying posters that one would find in the office of a high school counselor; he seemed to be annoyed at them as well, Henrietta noticed in dismay that he had taken the liberty of keeping them perfectly undamaged but the board onto which they were pinned had been noticeably stabbed all the way across, which could have been a coincidence if only each hole didn’t have the same exact distance from the next one. It was like a pattern made on purpose and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what said purpose was. Then of course there was a goddamn giant screen with the leaderboard that covered a whole wall, the one behind the Counselor’s chair to be exact. There was another screen – actually, two screens next to each other – with the leaderboard too,  next to the door, but it was smaller and instead of only the top agents it featured the whole list from the first to the forty-ninth agent. Nothing promising, for now. But seriously, there had to be something, something warmer, or at least something quirky – oh, there it was! Under the board with the posters, there was a small table with an extremely cute bonsai on top of it. She was very happy to notice it, perhaps that meant he had at least a little bit of fascination with nature and they could have bonded over that somehow, after all Leonard did not trust them both with this very important project for no reason. Maybe he just happened to have a 'less is more’ kind of aesthetic that was convenient since he had to be professional, a bit like Allison, maybe. It was a good thing. Fuck, her mind brought up Allison again.

  
She decided to shift her focus to work, trying to see what the Counselor was trying to transcribe from his notebook to the tablet – there were probably available tools that could do the work for him but transcribing most likely helped him memorize. His calligraphy looked like tiny printed letters and was somehow both neat and illegible at the same time. He had taken notes of the most absurd details, as who sat next to who or who raised their hand to ask questions, comparisons with the other groups, the most unnecessary details, really. In so little time, he had made a list of many agents’ nervous tics, for example how agent Wyoming would twist his mustache, West Virginia would bite at the inside corner of her lips or agent Connecticut would messily comb her hair to the other side with her hand. Henrietta imagined that one would piss him off, _a girl shall comb a tuft to the right and a boy shall comb it to the left because rules_ , she tried to make an impression of his voice in her head, or was it with watches? Or was it just a coincidence and there were no rules? Christ, were humans weird. Not that Mister Short And Weak right there was an example of masculinity anyway. He was cute, though, when he wasn’t being creepy. What was his name, anyway? _Aiden Price_.  
She stared at him for a while, trying to figure out if he _looked_ like an Aiden Price, but then again, there was just something about his attitude that would make any name sound odd on him. It was a nice name. A nice sounding name for a nice looking m–  
“BAH-GAWK!” she squawked in pain as he pressed his hand on her to hold her down again, probably annoyed with her and her staring eyes. He wiggled a finger in front of her and before she could realize what he was about to do and think ’ _Aiden, you’re an asshole_ ’ that he traced the line and she froze. Of course he knew how to hypnotize chickens, he probably thought that taking advantage of a small animal was some fun party trick he could use to show off his scientific knowledge, or something like that. Henrietta remained immobilized for way too much time before she was waken up by a clapping sound.

  
It was Leonard! Finally! She happily flew from the top of the desk right into his arms, and obviously Price’s first reaction to that was to clean the goddamned thing. Not really because he was a germophobe or anything, it was because he was an asshole. She didn’t know what they said while talking to each other before waking her up, but Leonard seemed really mad at him and she was glad to see it. She gave him a smug look as Leonard hugged her tight.  
“Hennie? Whawt happeuhned?”  
“Bawk…Hawk cluck-cluck…”  
Leonard gasped, he was completely outraged: “Whawt diddya do tuh heuh?!”  
“Perhaps we should discuss this on our way to the training room. We’re already late.”  
“Hm…” he narrowed his eyes and grunted “Fahn.”  
They exited the room and got in the elevator. Needless to say, Leonard blocked it on purpose. Henrietta jumped on his shoulders to look down at the Counselor, looking forward to his helpless expression – it had to come sooner or later, she wasn’t buying that unemotional façade. Not even human words could describe how much she was delighted.  
“So you hyeepnuhtahzed mah chieckuhn.”  
“It’s a common practice. Nothing to worry about.”  
“Ya thank? Then hah 'bout this wone cumon prahcties?” he pushed the Counselor against the wall, making sure to press his back against it hard enough to make it hurt “Now fawllow this fyengeuhr.”  
And _he fucking flipped him off, goddammit Leonard, I love you so much_ , Henrietta thought as she flailed her wings. He was amazing. He was defending her against that one person that everyone deemed a reasonable authority figure, even if anyone else would have let it slide because she was 'just a hen’. She always wanted to be more than that and Leonard was proving in that moment she was. Or at least, to him, and that was all that mattered. They were a family, for real. She had taken a lot from humans, spending her time with them, but maybe he took something from her as well. She could swear that she saw some fine rooster energy in him. Showing his love and devotion for her, like the biggest rooster in the pen would do.  
“…Director?”  
“Don’t say uh thang, you’re nawt yin poeuhsyetiouhn tuh tawk back!”  
“BAH-GAWK!”  
She flailed her wings more, this time for another reason. The heat of the argument had just made the Director overlook a very important particular, which was having accidentally pushed the Counselor against the button panel of the elevator and well, now the door was open and Agent Florida – of course it was goddamn Florida – was there, casually holding his helmet with one hand to the side of his body, showing his face, staring, _smiling_.  
“Oh…Well, good evening,” Agent Florida smiled even wider as he spoke with his oddly warm and friendly tone “the rest of the class was just wondering where y–”  
“Flowreda, do ya mahnd? Wie’re byeezy.”  
  
As the elevator door closed again, Agent Florida remained still for a couple of seconds, pondering, and then he went back into the training room, where other twenty four freelancers were waiting.  
“Back already?”  
“Why, yes, Reggie, you know I wouldn’t be caught dead leaving my friends alone without letting them join in on the fun!”  
“Right…And what would be the funny news you’re speaking about?” Wyoming seemed utterly unimpressed “Certainly cannot be about shipping us supplies of actual quality tea.”  
“Oh, trust me, I have wonderful news! Have you noticed a new interesting pair bickering like an old married couple, fellas?”  
“Oh, oh! I know!” Agent Puerto Rico replied enthusiastically “It’s Mississippi and Michigan, isn’t it? I knew it. It’s always been obvious.”  
“WHAT?!” both said agents went off behind him, shocked.  
“I mean, come on, dude, you can't fool my excellent sixth sense!” he friendly punched Mississippi’s arm “You two argue all the time but you can’t seem to stay away from each other, and when you do you’re always in each other’s thoughts! You even called her Agent Bitchigan the other day after she left!”  
“Wow, really?!” Michigan crossed her arms, she definitely wasn’t happy to hear that.  
“Yeah, wow…” Mississippi replied, pausing a little to gain some time and misplace the blame “ _Really, Rico?_ ”  
A brief moment of silence followed. Florida chuckled at that exchange.  
“Anyway.” Carolina took the lead of the conversation “What does this have to do with the Director and the Counselor? We asked you to go look for them so that we could start our lesson, it’s not like them to be late.”  
“I’m glad you asked, my dear Carolina! I was just looking for them when…Well, I found them in the elevator and, long story short, it wasn’t my first time noticing that they have a _very_ interesting dynamic!”  
“…What?”  
“He’s saying they fucked in the elevator.” South Dakota grinned, annoyed and disgusted by the image but glad to provoke Carolina, for some reason. Mostly because she was ‘the Director’s pet’.  
“SOUTH!” her brother called her out for being indelicate, not really sure about what to say next. “I’m sorry, Carolina, she’s just–”  
“Don’t worry, North.” she replied calmly, not believing a single of word of those rumours “When did they say they were coming?”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“I mean at _training_ , for the love of God.”  
“Oh! Well, they didn’t say it.”  
“So we have to keep waiting?”  
“Your guess is as good as mine.” he shrugged “As they closed the door, they said they were going to be busy for a while.”  
“…In the elevator?”  
Florida nodded, grinning way too happily. Carolina was starting to get uncomfortable.  
“Don’t say these things…”  
“For real,” added York “I wouldn’t want to see this image in my nightmares tonight.”  
“I don’t see why not!” he pulled out a 3D pen “It’s a delightful image, I’ll tell ya! And oh boy, do images speak louder than words. Actually, you gave me a great idea.”  
He started doodling and doodling, the other freelancers’ expressions went from puzzled to alarmed to downright horrified as they started piecing together what that _obscene_ drawing was.  
“Here, this is what I think happened right after I left!” he took a picture of his creation using his armour equipment. “Before I delete it, take pictures if you want to see this again.”  
“No, thanks!” all the freelancers replied in unison.  
“DELETE THAT IMMEDIATELY!” Carolina was even more shocked than everyone else.  
“Now, no need to get bent out of shape, I was just–”  
“NO, STOP! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU MAKE THESE DRAWINGS OF MY FATHER AND–”  
York gasped “THE DIRECTOR IS YOUR FATHER?!”  
“THE DIRECTOR IS YOUR FATHER?!” echoed everyone else.  
Carolina realized she had accidentally revealed her secret. She froze, afraid of having gotten herself in trouble.  
“I…I…”  
“BAH-GAWK!”  
Henrietta interrupted at the best possible moment as she arrived with the Director and the Counselor. Or maybe the worst possible moment, since that obscene – to say the least – art piece depicting the three of them was on full display for everyone to see. After a few seconds spent completely frozen, Leonard’s first reaction was to cover Henrietta’s eyes to protect her from the horror.  
“WHAWT THA HELL IS THIS?!”  
“What the Director is trying to say,” Price managed to keep collected as always but was sure caught off guard, still he had to keep professional because he knew Leonard was most likely going to freak out “is that we would like to know…What exactly has…Inspired this…Work.” he politely asked, struggling to find the words.  
“Ah don’t eveuhn wahnna know, juhst gyet et uhwaye from me.”  
Everyone seemed to agree with him and sighed in relief as Florida deleted his monstruosity.  
“Very well, then.” the Counselor eyed Florida with a cryptic stare “I suppose that since you showed interest in making…Art regarding the project, we can trust you with the duty of creating some posters for our facility, with the right supervision, during your free time. And of course, the rest of the group is going to work with you. Isn’t that right, agents?”  
Some freelancers sighed, some groaned, some just rolled their eyes, but they all had to reply the same way.  
“Yes, sir!”  
“Now, let us begin the lesson.”  
“Yes, sir!”  
As everyone got adjusted to begin the lesson properly, Henrietta watched Leonard give him a look of approval.  
“Nice puhnyeshmeuhnt, Ah’m gawnna hand it tuh ya.” he whispered “And sawrry for bein’ so hard on ya.”  
“It’s alright.”  
“Ah know chieckuhns get hyeepnuhtazed for practicuhl reesuhns as well, Ah refuse tuh do et but Ah see whah you dyeed that. Ah’m gawnna let you sleep wyeth mah gal Henrietta and look ahfta heuh, tonight.”  
“But Director–”  
“Ah’m shoure, Cownselauh, you euhrned yieet!”  
He sighed “…Thank you, sir.”  
Henrietta cackled at all that fuss happening. She thought that it was a really interesting art piece. She would have loved to get a copy of that.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sexual tension between Price and Henrietta reaches unreal levels; South sings 'Ring of Fire'; Carolina is Carolina beyond help. 479er punches a guy in the face. 'Tis a mild day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of this chapter is just references to shitposts and inside jokes. For example you can find an explanation for South and Washington's session on aiden-priceless on tumblr.

Although he had ‘earned it’, Price didn’t seem too happy about having to spend the night with Henrietta. Neither was she, their interaction at the office made sure to consolidate their mutual dislike. After having spent part of her evening free time cuddling with Carolina, she went to the Counselor’s quarters. The room was similar to his office, except it was even emptier, with nothing on the walls, which was unconceivable. Even the bed and the closet looked incredibly aseptic. _How_? Then again, he didn’t spend much time in there, and even now that he was here he was still at the desk working.  He had spent practically all day working, without ever taking a break. Leonard was devoted to the project too – hell, it was _his_ idea – but that was a little too much; and that was certainly not coming from the perspective of a lazy individual, Henrietta had worked a lot to create the perfect intranet and it took her weeks to come up with AO3 (Agents Of Our Own), so she definitely would know something about hard work! It was like a new version of her very own Instagawk that also gave space to text and audio posts. She had built a device similar to a watch that she wore on her foot and could use like a phone. She gave it a few pecks and sent a message.  
  
“ **Get some rest, you’ve been working all day**.”  
  
He seemed surprised when he checked who sent the message, he turned towards Henrietta and pointed at her, whispering: “Y-you…?”  
“Hawk bawwwk?” she pecked on her screen again, sending another message.  
  
“ **Don’t be so surprised.** ”  
  
He shook his head and put down his material. “Alright…Maybe I _am_ tired.” That was way too delightful. Henrietta cackled loudly. There was a particular kind of twisted pleasure that she felt in catching him off guard. He hesitantly texted back without saying a word.  
  
**“I wasn’t aware you were able to do this.”  
** **“How so? I created this whole intranet, bitch.”  
** **“I figured the Director did most of the work.”  
** **“Trust me, I know what I’m doing. And you should listen to me when I tell you to put your shit down for a second.”  
** **“I wasn’t going to listen, but now as I’m acknowledging your point of view expressed in such a well mannered way I’ll make sure to comply.”  
** **“Up yours, shisno! I’m helping you.”  
** **“Interesting word usage. Do you know what 'shisno’ means?”  
**   
_Of course I know what it means, jackass!_ , she thought. As mean as it was, especially considered how much she loved Leonard and Carolina, it really felt good to use derogatory terms against humans every now and then. That oppressive piece of shit earned that slur. Actually, he was the shit of a piece of shit of the foulest smelling animal, that’s what shisno meant. Aliens really had a way with words, she would have gladly befriended an alien if only they weren’t at w- _Oh_.  
Fuck. FUCK! How was it possible? How could she forget about what happened to Allison?! It was the aliens’ fault she was dead. Leonard would have been so disappointed to know about what Henrietta wrote. Shisno, really? The slur used by those who murdered the mother of your child? What kind of monster would ever do that? Henrietta was already regretting sending that text, but of course Price wasn’t in her head to follow her thought process and to him this lack of response had a different meaning.  
  
“Don’t worry.” he spoke with his unnervingly condescending tone “I understand that too much information could cause some confusion. But you are really smart, for a hen.”  
“Hawk bah-gawk?!” What the fuck was that supposed to mean?  
“Some would even say it’s impressive.” he added as he narrowed his eyes in the slowest, smuggest way, with the creepiest smirk on his face, and grabbed clean underwear from a drawer under the door of his closet “Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to have a shower.”  
As he headed to his private bathroom and closed the door behind him, Henrietta managed to reopen the drawer and sit in it to mark her territory. He came back into the room for a second after hearing her make noise and lifted her at roughly his chest height, then proceeded to open the closet door - which contained an unexpectedly high amount of suits and all kinds of high fashion formal clothes, still not colourful but really stylish – and placed her inside.  
“Here.” he murmured “If you want to try and ruin all my belongings again you might as well spread your droppings among my precious branded clothes.”  
“Bawk gawk?” she looked around, completely puzzled. She didn’t know where he was going with that, but certainly it couldn’t be good. She tried to take a jump to get out but he leaned in and he was now fucking _purring_ in her ear holes “Go ahead. _I wouldn’t expect anything less from you_.”  
And before Henrietta could do anything, he slammed the door closed. She heard the key turn and as everything became dark around her, she was paralyzed by fear. Technically she could have tried to break free or send a message to Leonard to ask for help, had she been able to move it would’ve been a piece of cake. But the darkness…The darkness just brought bad memories.

 

That motherfucker had just challenged her. She _could_ actually ruin his clothes just to wrong him, but that would have proven his point. Her being able to text wasn’t enough to make her a good employee, and asking Leonard for help whenever there was a minor inconvenience definitely wasn’t the ideal move for the betterment of her reputation, so she just had to sit in the dark and wait.  
The hours passed very slowly, and aside from the showering part Price didn’t make any noise, unlike any goddamn normal person. She didn’t expect him to snore loudly like Leonard, but then again…It wouldn’t have surprised her if that creep didn’t know what sleep was, as terrifying as that image was she could envision him sitting on his bed just staring at the closet instead of sleeping, ready to stare into her soul if she got out of there somehow. At least the fabric of all those fancy clothes felt good, it helped her rest a little. She was waken up by the closet door being opened, maybe it was the drowsiness but she wasn’t unhappy to see Price, especially now that he was wearing white underwear that made a lovely contrast with his skin. A quite enticing view, she had to admit. He carefully looked for any stains on his clothes, then grabbed his uniform and proceeded to get the rest of his stuff to get ready, completely ignoring Henrietta. She was confused by that behaviour, as everything he did seemed to be calculated but it was hard to understand what could possibly be on his mind in that moment. Or ever, for that matter, but still. To her, he seemed very petty, but that was his way of being the bigger person and it was an effective way to show his 'superiority’. Not that him being silent was a bad thing, anytime he said something with that tone of his she felt like pecking his eyes out and clawing him everywhere. Well, she could do it now…He was right there, half naked and completely vulnerable. It was nice to watch him go through his morning grooming routine, like a prey she could easily ambush. Yes. Good boy. He had his back turned,  his unexpectedly nice perky butt for her to see and peck and _wait, what_? That was an odd thought to say the least. If anything, it meant that she was more than willing to see the good qualities in him, and if their work relationship wasn’t working it was all Price’s fault. That was clearly what it meant. _By the way, Leonard’s beauty is natural_ , she had to point out in her mind as if he could hear her, _he doesn’t make any effort to look that good_. Again, not that he could hear her thoughts – or could he? - , she just wanted to let him know that his pretty face wasn’t enough and that he couldn’t fool her.  
While he finished getting ready, Henrietta deleted the conversation they had that night from his device. At first he didn’t notice but as he saw her by the desk he had to check, and seeing that everything else was in perfect order and the messages weren’t there probably had him figure he was _that_ tired when he thought he’d received them. He just shrugged it off, fetched his material and exited the room.  
_Bitch,_ _come back here and_ _check the one on my foot, I fucking dare you_. God, did she want him to start the fight for once! Of course, he didn’t. He was the one who treated her as inferior, and yet in the eye of everyone else he was being professional and she was being petty and unreasonable. Well, except for Leonard – he was just the sweetest thing - , but what about Carolina? She couldn’t really bring up the topic with her, the poor little girl had already lots of things to worry about, but it was still a concern.  
Either way, Reveille was now blasting across the spaceship, so Leonard was already on his way to inspect Carolina and the other special agents. However, having already figured out what his routine was, she probably had to follow the other guy. Here he was, doing the morning inspection of the others.    
  
“Soldier…Please adjust your helmet.”  
“I’M TRYING!” replied the soldier with a muffled voice as he tried to fix his helmet, which he had somehow put on backwards. A few other soldiers tried to help him, but no use.  
“Stand aside, boys, stand aside.” intervened 479er as she walked through “I can handle this.”  
As everyone took a step back, she threw a punch at him, knocking him out.  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“Hey. That guy put on his helmet _backwards_ , he’s beyond help.”  
He managed to get back up and his helmet fell off, revealing his face – an enticingly pretty face, according to Henrietta. He had very large birthmark that covered his nose and eyelids, but it felt at balance with the rest of his face somehow, it was cute. His most adorable feature was the genuine enthusiasm in eyes as he said:  
“Private Parts, ready for duty, sir!”  
All the other soldiers burst out laughing. Even Henrietta cackled at _Private Parts_. Price shook his head.  
“We do not use standard rankings such as 'private’ in this facility, Parts.”  
“Yeah, I…Sorry, sir. It was…Just a moment of distraction, it won’t happen again.”  
“I’m sure of it. Let this be a reminder for everyone, just in case.”  
Another soldier spoke as he saluted him “Justin Case ready for duty, sir!”  
Price sighed. It was going to be a _long_ day.

 

From what Henrietta understood, the counseling sessions with Price were only obligatory for the special agents and regular soldiers had to present a formal request if they wanted one. As the initial weeks of the project went by, the schedule was now established. Two sessions during the breakfast/rest time, two during the free time before class and other three during the evening free time before going to sleep, thus seven sessions in a day. In only a week he could easily interview all the forty-nine agents, although the ones with the lowest ranks were interviewed less often – hell, the triplets only got to have their own sessions _once_! - , leaving him 'free time’ that he used to work on his own. This when there were no missions, of course, which was also a somehow effective method to encourage the bottom ranking agents to work harder: he would tell them that the agents that got more mission assignments had priority for the sake of accuracy when documenting operations and nobody could argue with that logic. Needless to say, some sessions were really…Interesting.

“York has been avoiding me for three weeks now.” Carolina sighed during a counseling session “This is all Florida’s fault.”  
“Do you think Agent York would have reacted differently if he acknowledged your blood relation to the Director directly from you?”  
“I’m not sure, he probably would have been…I don’t know, weirded out? But if he knew in better circumstances, maybe…I would have told him, sooner or later. I was just waiting for the right moment.”  
“What would have been the most suitable moment to tell him, then?”  
“I was thinking of our wedding day.”

“Why, I don’t have any problems with Carolina being the Director’s daughter.” said York faking confidence, accidentally letting out a nervous laughter “We are all adults here and we can handle this maturely.”  
“Indeed. How exactly are you planning to handle the situation?”  
“Can’t put my finger on it yet, but I’ll figure out something.”  
“So you are suggesting that you are going to change your behaviour around Agent Carolina?”  
“Yeah, I guess? Wait, no…Maybe…Is that a trick question?”  
  
“Look, aunt Henrietta is here!” joyfully exclaimed Carolina as she noticed her presence.  
“Bawk bawk!”  
“Yes, Miss Peckerman asked to be present during these counseling sessions in order to…Help with the documentation.”  
“Sounds good to me.”  
“However, I understand if you feel uncomfortable with her presence.”  
“Why would I feel uncomfortable?”  
“With a family member in the room, you might feel…Conditioned, and we would like you to be able to speak freely.”  
“I see. Well, it’s not a problem for me.”  
“Are you sure? It would not even take a second for her to leave.”  
“No, no, I’m fine.”  
Price sighed. “…Good.”

  
“Oh, hey there!” York waved at Henrietta “I didn’t notice Henrietta was here too. Oh, wait.”  
“What is it?”  
“She…She can’t talk about this with Carolina, right?”  
“Technically, she is required not to.”  
“No, I mean…Can she talk?”  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“Bawk.”  
“You might want to rephrase the question, Agent York.”  
“Yeah…”  


“Agent Illinois, food and beverages are not permitted in this room.”  
“But it’s a special occasion, sir!” he replied as he opened a bottle of rum “I’m celebrating Wisconsin’s recovery. God, I’m so happy! I really didn’t expect him to be okay after what happened during the mission two weeks ago and today here he is kicking ass on the training room floor.”  
“You…Don’t know?”  
“Know what?”  
“Agent Wisconsin has recently passed away after his lethal injury. The Agent Wisconsin you saw is actually our new fiftieth agent, who was supposed to be Agent DC; he stepped up to become the new Wisconsin instead of waiting for his new armour and designation.”  
“Oh…” he glanced down at his bottle and brought it to his mouth “Well, time to drink to forget, I guess! Haha, cheers!”  
  
“Please stay focused, Agent Carolina.”  
“Oh, uhm, yes.” she cleared her throat “Sorry, sir.”  
“Go ahead.”  
“At least I don’t have to worry about how to tell him anymore.”  
“That is a good way to think.”  
“Not that I really planned my wedding day, I’m not even sure it’s gonna be with him.”  
“Of course. However, it’s a very important event in every person’s life, so don’t let the current situation discourage you from discussing your idea of the perfect wedding. It might bring the clarity you were looking for.”  
“Right. So, uhm…I was thinking of wearing white and blue. Those were the colours I was wearing the first time we met, at Club Errera.”  
“That is…Unexpectedly romantic of you.”  
“I know, right? My biggest dream for my wedding is – please don’t laugh.”  
“I assure you I am not going to laugh.”  
“My biggest dream for my wedding is to walk down the aisle with my father.”  
Henrietta let out the loudest, longest cackle, to the surprise of both, only to realize that she was serious. Poor, poor girl. All she wanted was to have a real family around her, and with her mother gone and her father neglecting her Henrietta should have known better.  
“…Bawk.”

  
“Alright, this is ridiculous!” Washington crossed his arms “York has been hiding from Carolina for months, now. They go on missions and training together, but other than that he always looks for an excuse to avoid her, which wouldn’t be a problem if _I_ didn’t have to get involved with this!”  
“I understand your concern, Agent Washington, but please remember that what happened was an accident.”  
“I fell asleep in the hiding spot I found for him and when I woke up they had locked me in!”  
“You were hiding in a sock drawer, good manners would require to keep one’s drawers closed.”  
“I know, but he didn’t just close it, he glued it! Actually, I’m not sure it was York who did it, but if he took this as an excuse to prank me, I swear–”  
“I’m sorry, agent, what seems to be the problem? You were only trapped for three days, four hours, twenty-seven minutes and eight seconds.”  
“I– I’m sorry, what?”

  
“Speaking of the most recent mission, Agent South–”  
South interrupted him with a groan “What about it?”  
“According to the mission report, you” he stopped to read directly from the document “ _failed the mission objective by suddenly starting to sing 'Ring Of Fire’ by Joh_ _n_ _ny Cash at the top your lungs_ , is that correct?”  
“Uhh…No?”  
“Before continuing this discussion,” he anticipated the idiocy, feeling she was probably going to go for it “I have to remind you that specific corrections regarding the song being sung are not the main point.”  
“No, it was that song, but it wasn’t my fault. It was North.”  
“That seems…Highly unlikely.”  
“Yeah, to you, maybe! My brother hums that cheesy ugly song 24/7 and you don’t say a word, I sing it out loud to let him know how annoying it is and everyone tells me to shut up!”  
“…And you did it mid-mission.” he pointed out again, incredulous in front of her _recklessness_ , to put it lightly.  
“Well, of course it sounds stupid if you say it like THAT.”

  
“I’m not saying I’m angry, I’m just…A little bit stressed about having to regain my position on the leaderboard, that’s it.” continued Washington “I went down ten positions because of this.”  
“As you may have noticed, the leaderboard is updated every week. Within a period of seven days, an incident such as this one is bound to have an impact. I’m sure you understand.”  
“Yeah…I just wish I didn’t miss the call for the first important missions. What was it about, anyway?”  
“Well…”  
A flashback started playing in his mind:  
_“Eggcelleuhnt nyoos, Cownselauh! Ah got mah brayne scanned and in uh few mawnths the Ahlphwa ay-ah is goin’ tuh be raedy fo’ dehlyevuhry!”_  
_“Very well. Any progress regarding our request for more artificial intelligence, sir?”_  
_“No but that’s raht where Ah wawnt ya! Go cawll ahr aygeuhnts. Wye’re sendin’ 'em tuh wreck Charawn’s shiet 'cause Ah’m pyessed.”_  
_“That’s fair.”_  
A brief moment of silence followed. Washington stared at Price with a confused expression.  
“…Don’t worry about that.”

 

“ _IIIII feeeell iiiiintooo aaa bbburning ring of fiiiire, I went dowwwwn, dowwwwn, dowwwwnnnn and the flaaaames weeent h_ –”  
“Please focus, Agent North Dakota.”  
North stopped his happy humming for a second and tilted his head, tired eyes and a genuine smile on his face.  
“I’m sorry, did you say something?”  
“…”  
“Oh, hello, Miss Peckerman!”

  
“I’m serious!” she continued “You know what? I’m going to sing it again and again!”  
“What would be the use of th–”  
“EVERY FRIDAY AT 3AM, DON’T MISS IT!”  
“I would not advise that, Agent South.”  
“There is no rule against it, so I’ll do it anyway! I’M NOT A CHICKEN!”  
Not even the time to finish the sentence that Henrietta attacked her, viciously stomping on her head and getting her claws stuck in her hair. South screamed as they kept fighting.  
“URGH! THIS SPACESHIP IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE!!”

  
“Whew!” exhaled Illinois as he chugged the whole bottle “What can I tell you, I’m just…The guy you’re looking for if you want to party. Everyone is always so concerned with the scores and the leaderboard, but I’m not. I just want to drink with my buddies and have a good time, and I’m glad for it, because I can get along with everyone without the unnecessary drama, you know?”  
“I see.”  
“They know they can count on me because of this, and it’s a great feeling. When they are concerned for my well-being I know it’s genuine and I couldn’t ask for more.”  
“Interesting.” Price took notes “Agent Illinois, next week remind me to tell you about something you can do for me that goes very well with your…Particular abilities.”  
“Yes, sir.”

 

Of course he refused to say what that something was, probably because it was sick and Henrietta wouldn’t have approved – not that he cared about her approval, of course, but he didn’t want her in the way. Even going through dozens and dozens of counseling sessions, she couldn’t bring herself to like the guy, although she had to admit that his devotion was admirable. Maybe he did care about something, after all. As cold and dislikeable as he acted towards her, he was interesting and she wished she could figure him out somehow, but if after all that time she couldn’t it was time to give up and go back to those she really cared about, Leonard and Carolina.  
One day, during the evening free time after dinner, she saw Carolina was leaving as York entered the rec room. Surely all these months of avoiding her didn’t help their relationship, but Illinois stopped them.  
“Carolina! York! Wait up!”  
“What is it?” Carolina clung to Henrietta, failing to hide her nervousness.  
“Guys…” he sat at a table, clearly drunk and unable to walk properly “I think the Counselor is trying to kill me.”  
“Wait, what?” Carolina was concerned, York just shrugged instead.  
“Nah, I don’t think he would do that…Well…He is kinda shifty.”  
“York.” Carolina admonished him “You have to respect your superiors. What do you mean by that, Illinois?”  
“I told him I just wanted to drink…And have a good time, you know. So he suggested a challenge, like a drinking game, and I thought it would be fun but…Here.”  
He pulled a paper from his pocket and put him on the table. Carolina started reading it.  
“Take a drink everytime Wyoming twists his mustache; take two drinks everytime Hawaii flirts with  another agent; finish the bottle everytime Washington says something dorky–”  
“Oh God, you’re right: he _is_ trying to kill you. Nice knowing you, buddy!” laughed York, at which Illinois pointed at the bottom of the page.  
“Guys…I’ll always keep drinking, it’s in my nature, but please…Help me.”  
Carolina started reading the part he was pointing at:  
“Take a drink everytime York hides from Carolina; take two drinks everytime the tension between Carolina and York rises; take three drinks everytime they involve another agent in their situation; finish the bottle everytime their involvement of another agent triggers any of the points above…Why are you doing this?”  
“I said I didn’t care about the leaderboard…But I still wanted to prove I’m good at doing what I do…It was sorta my idea if you think about it.”  
“You’re gonna die of alcohol poisoning, man!” exclaimed York “Is this some really weird kind of behaviour correction or something?”  
He said that as a joke and laughed, but Henrietta knew he was right. Apparently, almost killing everyone’s favourite drinking buddy was an 'interesting method’. God, she could already _hear_ that motherfucker make some absurd excuse for it and still ending up sounding reasonable. How was he capable of doing that was still a mystery, but whatever the secret was, it worked.  
“Alright, I have an idea.” announced Carolina “Let’s do like this: York and I settle this now, no matter what, and everytime we get angry we stop and take a drink instead of you, okay?”  
“Okay…Sounds like a good plan.”  
As the minutes passed it became more and more evident that it was, in fact, a horrible plan. Carolina was completely drunk. The boys were alarmed and Henrietta was irritated at both of them.  
“Carolina…Are you…Are you okay?”  
“Ugghhh…Yeah…”  
“So…We’re cool, right?”  
“Hm-hmmm.”  
“Good– was that a yes or a no?”  
“Hm-hmmm.”  
“Are you sure you’re okay?”  
“Ah’m great, you be okay. Okay?”  
“Wh-what?”  
“You’ve heuhd mye. Ah don’t lahk yo’ tone, bah tha waye.”  
York couldn’t help but let out a scream of horror as he heard _the_ accent. Henrietta cackled.  
“Always tawkin’ lahk Ah’m bein’ irrahtiuhnul but whawt uhbout you, eh? AH GOT MAH AHS ON YA.”  
“…Carolina?”  
“NO. Y'AIN’T LYESTEUHNIN’ TUH ME.”  
“See?” he turned to Illinois “This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I can’t do this. I…I’m not strong enough for this.”  
“THAT’S BEECAWSE YOU’RE UH WYEUHMP.”  
“…A what?”  
“UH WYEUHM– GAWDDAYUM, YORK, YOU NEVAH DO ANYTHAN’ AH TELL YA. WHAH DO AH ALWAYS HAVE TUH DO ERRY SYENGUHL THANG YIN THES SPAYCESH–”  
She couldn’t even finish the sentence that she passed out. A moment of silence followed. Henrietta was very, very, very angrily staring at York.  
“Baw-GAWK?!”  
“I…I think I’m gonna go no-OWWWW!”  
Oh hell no, he could’ve been nice and everything but if Carolina was going to be unwell because of him, Henrietta hated him, and that’s what prompted her to attack. Illinois was too drunk to do anything and everyone else in the rec room seemed to be entertained by the situation and voluntarily decided to stand there and watch. Wyoming even said 'Fourty pounds the chicken wins’ at some point. It had to be Price himself to get in there and stop her, since no one else would. All the freelancers present pretended not know what was going on and went silent in order not to get in trouble, and Henrietta emitted some annoyed noise as she was carried away, but this time he was acting differently. He took her to the door of Leonard’s room and gave her a solemn and slightly concerned look:  
“I tried to speak to the Director, but he is not comfortable with my presence at the moment.”  
_Or ever_ , added Henrietta in her mind, _but go on_.  
“Maybe it would be more appropriate if you talked to him. And…” he seemed to struggle to find the words “There is not much else I can say, please go.”  
“Baw-gawk!”  
That was way too concerning, he even forgot to say mean things or subtle mean remarks, it was a sign that something was bad. And it was about Leonard – oh God, why didn’t she spend more time with him lately? She just wanted to be more active but that made her almost completely neglect him and that was awful, especially since he was horribly depressed. What if he had hurt himself? What if he attempted suicide?! That wouldn’t have been the first time either. Fuck, Henrietta, why can’t you ever do anything right?, she internally scolded herself.  
At last she finally gathered the courage to enter the room. Everything seemed to be at its place – it was exactly like the bedroom of their apartment, he had spent the whole time on the Mother of Invention trying to recreate it with the baggages that were shipped from there – and Leonard was sitting on the bed, holding his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. He definitely wasn’t fine, he looked like he had just seen a ghost.  
“HAWK CLUCK BAWK?!”  
“Hennie...Ah saw heuh...Ah swear, Ah saw heuh...”  
“CLUCK?! BAWK HAWK BAWK-BAWK?!”  
_“Ah saw Alisuhn.”_


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's episode ten, you know what it means? Queen Tex is in the house (hail the queen!), making not one, not two, not three, but exactly ZERO people happy. Leonard goes crazy. Price goes uwu as always. General drama ensues. People possibly dying in the background during unnecessary missions.

“Come in, Command! This is Agent Vermont. We need extraction, now! ...Command? Command, do you read me?”  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Why aren't they answering?” asked a teammate that was hiding with him along with an injured agent. The alarms blaring could be heard outside, but they had snuck so deep within that enemy facility that they were in a dark corner where they could barely hear anything. They were just frozen in their own world, hiding, waiting for Charon's soldiers to find them. They were doomed...Unless someone could rescue them, there was a shortcut that they could use easily, but going through it without cover and without extraction meant putting themselves into enemy hands.  
“I don't know, but they better do or we're gonna die here! How's Jersey?”  
“He lost consciousness. What do we do?!”  
“I don't know, I guess we're just gonna have to wait until we die. They're onto us, anyway, it's just a matter of time before they find us and gun us down.”  
“Wow...I would've never thought I would die like this. I've always been a quiet girl, not really the 'adventure type', you know...I was going to study to become a teacher, but...I felt I needed to do something more to help our planet, our people...That's why I signed for this.”  
“Do you regret it?”  
“Do I regret it?” she sighed “Can't say I do. I just wish I actually did something to help, before dying.”  
“Hey, we're freelancers! We're already helping! At least you can go remembering that.”  
“Yeah...And you? Any regrets?”  
“I wish I had found the strength to tell you this earlier: Tennessee...Heh...Leslie, I lov--”  
“OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, JUST KILL ME SO I DON'T HAVE TO SEE THIS SHIT!” a newly awake New Jersey interrupted them.  
“What-- Jersey! You're alive!”  
“Yeah, big fucking deal.” he muttered bitterly “Now I'm gonna die with two losers.”  
“Up yours!” replied Vermont “Your state is, like, the armpit of America!”  
“Oh yeah? Then why don't y--”  
“Guys, shut up! Command is calling back, maybe they're gonna save us!” interrupted Tennessee as she tried to move without making too much noise in order to get a better reception.  
“Come in, Command, this is Agent Tennessee of Team B, do you read me?” she sighed, only to frantically add “We lost contact with Team A. Someone, I don't know who, triggered the alarm, we took fire and we have wounded, please send help!”  
“We read you, Agent Tennessee.” finally replied a voice from Command, most likely ignoring what she just said “We're putting you in contact with Peckerman, stay online for new directives.”  
“Oh, thank God...Wait, Peckerman?”  
“Who is Peckerman?” asked both Vermont and New Jersey in unison.  
“I don't know, I-- wait.” she heard some static through the radio “Hello?! Do you read me?”  
“CLUCK BAH-GAWK BAWK! HAWK BAWK CLUCK, CLUCK _BAWK_!”  
There was static again, followed by a clicking noise and then silence. Tennessee glanced away from her teammates.  
“Guys, I don't know how to tell you this, but--”  
“We're gonna fucking die, aren't we?”  
“Yep.”

  
Yes, Henrietta intervening during a mission was a clear sign that the atmosphere on the Mother of Invention was taking an unexpected turn. Suddenly more and more missions were taking place for no real reason, in order to keep the agents occupied. Command played a major role in that, bombarding them with information and directives of debatable usefulness, just to make them stay longer. Not only the competition was taken to the extreme, so was the sneaky rewarding system: the originally single room with twenty-five bunk beds was split in two, then in four, now in nine separate rooms. Five were single rooms assigned to the top five agents, the other four had to be shared by more agents and had five bunk beds each. Plus the corridor that linked them in which they went all together for the morning inspection because 'they were all equal'. Needless to say, who slept in which room – given they got to come back on board - depended on their position on the leaderboard, and _thank God_ there were multiple screens scattered everywhere around the facility in case someone needed to know what their place was. Who needs toilet paper in a bathroom stall when you can just sit there and stare at the leaderboard? To be fair, it was either the leaderboard or Agent Florida's way too cheesy posters of enthusiastic freelancer propaganda – the guy had even made his own merchandise for others to buy, of course one would wonder _who_ would purchase those items, but clearly people were too afraid to ask – so it wasn't that bad. The posters made for a better toilet paper, though.

  
Henrietta couldn't say that this kind of madness was new to her, it had pretty much been a wild ride from the start, and yet it was easy to tell that it was getting worse because of what happened to Leonard. He was silent and unaffectionate, which was very unlike him. As much as pain devoured him all those years, he never failed to feel proud of Henrietta and Carolina, and that was one of those things that somehow Henrietta could perceive, even if he had a hard time expressing it. When Allison was still with them, Leonard was a loving husband and father. After her death he became more distant, angrier, sadder, a worse person, but even if he neglected Carolina he was still there. If only a little bit. This time, Henrietta couldn't perceive him under all that pain. Little did she know that the Leonard she used to have a family with died the night she found him shaking and crying on his bed. He was holding a picture of Allison, staring at it and caressing it as if he could reach her somehow. Not even Henrietta could get a word out of him, but as soon as she closed the door behind her she heard him whisper repeatedly something that sounded like 'why don't you recognize me?', but she had no idea why he would say that. He claimed he saw Allison...But was it true? What did he even mean by that? How?

  
What didn't help was the fact that he was the boss and nobody in the project was above him, so if he ordered anyone to leave him alone then they had to comply and the Counselor was no exception. However, he was a clever one, and while he wasn't allowed to go in detail he was the one helping Leonard whenever he had a panic attack or started drinking a little too much and surely he did catch something. It was time to take advantage of the general chaos to go through his stuff and understand what was going on. Of course he had brought almost all his material with him, wherever the fuck he was, so Henrietta could only find a few handwritten notes taken during the latest encounters with the Alpha AI, who for some reason was too good to talk to a chicken. She would get easily excluded from those sessions and sent to watch over the agents – rightfully so, those people were animals, much more than she was! But that wasn't the important part.  
“BAH-GAWK!!”  
_There was another AI_. It came to existence as a byproduct of the Alpha, it split from him as a separate entity. Nothing like that ever happened before! That was great news, the UNSC didn't allow them another AI but now they had access to a whole new world of possibilities, they had twice as many chances to save the galaxy!  
_Beta AI. Codename: Agent Texas._  
  
It had been a long time since the last episode she could remember of Texas being used as a name. It was Allison's nickname, the one that gave Leonard the idea of naming their child after a state. She was the yellow rose of Texas, something beautiful and proud, and it felt so satisfying when during a mission she had to board a ship that was also named Texas. It was a happy memory, until the ship was destroyed and Allison never came back, and suddenly Texas wasn't a happy name anymore. Hence why there was no agent with that name. Well, now there was one, and Henrietta knew that Leonard would have never wasted that designation, so it was Allison. It _had_ to be Allison. At the same time, she felt it was too good to be true. If it _really_ was Allison, she would have recognized Leonard. According to him and to the paper, she didn't, nor did she have any memories of her life with him. She remembered Alpha as her boyfriend, though, and Alpha _was_ Leonard, to an extent. He was a copy of Leonard, and Agent Texas originated from him, so she was going to be a copy of Allison seen through Leonard's eyes. She was going to be a literal angel.  
Then why was Leonard sad? What was wrong? A really, really selfish little voice in her head told Henrietta that maybe he realized that Allison wasn't really what his heart was looking for, that he just wanted someone by his side and that Allison couldn't fill that role anymore after leaving him alone all these years. Perhaps 'selfish' wasn't the word for it, rather 'envious' was more appropriate. How embarrassing. Maybe she was the one who actually became a worse person – well, worse chicken – after Allison's death instead of Leonard. He was just extremely vulnerable and lost and she wanted to take advantage of him, in a certain sense. That wasn't okay, not only as a thing to do, even as a thought it was horrible enough to make her question her behaviour in the past sixteen years. He was family when Allison was still around, but nothing more, what Henrietta felt for him was purely platonic at the start, and then what happened?

Loneliness, responsibilities, pain, all those things that made their bond stronger in ways that she would have never imagined...But the kind of love that grew on her was completely one-sided. What hurt the most was that she couldn't even actually try to make him love her because of her species. Had she been human, he would have given his heart to her, cried in her arms, maybe kissed her if only in a moment of confusion. A moment that would repeat itself more and more often until he became completely hers, and then they would get married, and Carolina would grow up happy. Yes, this had to do also with Carolina, especially with her. 'Tex' was hardly ever around, even when she was still alive, because she was always busy with her missions, and as much as Henrietta supported her it wasn't fair: she could have all the good reasons in the world to focus on her job, but then if Henrietta did more than her to take care of Carolina she had to get her well deserved recognition. Leonard was grateful, but not enough. He wasn't hers. Somehow, one could never just compete with Allison, even if she didn't do anything she would always win.  
Henrietta shook her head violently to get rid of those thoughts. Leonard was clearly upset because Allison didn't recognize him. Then again, that wasn't actually Allison, was it? It was _Beta_ , an artificial intelligence, something that no matter how similar, would never become the real Allison. She couldn't compete either. Kind of ironic, although in a very sad way. Plus, all this internal rambling was making the whole matter feel so...Abstract. It was like Henrietta was formulating a scientific hypothesis calculating all the possible scenarios instead of actually solving her family issues. There was only one way to understand everything properly, she had to go to the source.

  
“Bah-gaw hawk. Cluck hawk, bawk cluck-cluck-cluck bawk. _Hawk_.”  
A brief moment of silence followed and the screen switched on. She could see the Alpha looking around.  
“Bawk bawk?”  
“Henrietta! Long time no see. I'm not sure I've ever seen you alone, come to think about it. Is everything okay?” he asked. He, at least, seemed okay, and that gave her instant relief. Cognitive Impression Modeling was something she studied and it suggested that if Leonard was horribly depressed then Alpha would have had problems as well, regardless of the recent events, but seeing him so 'put together' was a good thing. Although he was clearly ready to get worried about something, _anything_.  
“Cluck-cluck. Bawk hawk gawk bawk cluck cluck. Bawk hawk, cluck cluck?”  
“Oh.” Alpha lowered his head “I didn't see her today. The Director said she's going to be very busy, so I won't see her again anytime soon, I guess.” he then proceeded to shrug, pretending not to care “Classic Tex.”  
“Bawk cluck bah-cluck bawk?”  
“She must be 'preparing for a mission', or something. You know these cockbites never tell me anything.” he emitted a small bitter laugh that barely lasted a second and yet it felt so heavy. She could hear his sadness, his loneliness in it.  
The little guy looked nothing like Leonard, he just looked like a suit of armour whose helmet couldn't be removed, but she liked to think that under that helmet he looked like him when he was young. Not that his appearance changed much, it was the only thing that remained more or less the same, except for a slight weight gain and a few grey streaks in his hair that came with age. Oh, and also the voice, Alpha sounded exactly like him in his late twenties, before his squeaky voice while yelling got raspy, exact same voice. No sign of southern accent, strangely, but it was like him...Before everything. She really had to go see Allison, now.  
“Oh. You're...You're going, already?” asked Alpha as he saw her walk out of the room, completely in her thoughts “Okay, see ya. I'm gonna...I'm gonna log off, now.”

  
“BAWK BAH-GAWK!”  
Suddenly everyone in the rec room was standing at attention, lowkey wondering if someone caught them doing anything questionable – they surely took the opportunity whenever they had one, and the general fuss offered plenty of opportunities, because they were just chaotic like that – and putting on their most professional expression.  
“Relax, guys, it's just the chicken.” pointed out Illinois.  
“Ugh, what's it doing here?!”  
“Come on, Georgia, don't be rude, now.”  
“Why not? That thing tried to poke my eyes out the other day! I have to wear a patch until my cornea heals! And don't even get me started about what it did to Kentucky!”  
“Well, of course she'd be mad at Kentucky!” replied Utah, who was now suddenly whispering “Haven't you heard of...Kentucky Fried Chicken? We can't even imagine how many relatives she's lost because of them!”  
“Hey, Utah?”  
“Yeah?”  
“You're an idiot.”  
“Well, so much for being sober today.” Illinois poured a couple of shots for himself “I have to drink twice, now. One drink because you're an idiot and one because you're an asshole.” he laughed.  
“What was the time you had to drink the most?” asked Utah out of curiosity, not minding the insult.  
“Well, you know Iowa has the bad habit of being a terrible driver and blowing up a moongoose everytime he gets on or even near one? Well, he broke twelve in one go.”  
“Wow...That's impressive.”  
“Yeah...Wait, you mean Iowa blowing up twelve vehicles in a single training session or me having that many drinks and being still alive?”  
“Wow...That's very impressive too.”  
Illinois sighed and proceeded to drink “Good thing the triplets disappeared and I don't have to drink for their fuck ups anymore, the few people on board now are already enough...”  
“Bawk bawk. _Hawk bah-gawk bawk_. Cluck cluck!”  
Silence.  
“Hawk bawwwwwk?”  
“I, uhh...Does someone speak chicken? 'Cause I--”  
“I do!” happily intervened Puerto Rico as he walked to Henrietta “How can I help?”  
“Cluck. Hawk bawk-gawk, cluck-cluck-cluck hawk baw-gawk cluck.”  
“Don't worry, of course I understand you! I have a very developed sixth sense so I can perceive your words through the vibes. I'll tell you a secret, I'm having a strong feeling that very soon...Someone...Will walk through...That door!”  
He turned to point at the restroom door. The noise of a toilet being flushed was heard.  
“...Bawk.”  
“Oh, I have no idea what they're doing! It's been like this for a while, now: everyone gets sent on all kinds of missions, then we have to go through the most awkward interrogation scenes because apparently there have been 'suspicious radio transmissions giving away precious information' and they have to find out who is doing that, but they still send us because they want the ship to be as empty as possible so that they can use it for themselves, or something.”  
“Wait a sec.” Illinois was confused “She only made one noise, how is that an elaborate question?”  
“It's a very misunderstood language.” he nodded solemnly, only to keep speaking to Henrietta “And yeah, that's pretty much it. I guess it's why the training room floor is off-limits.”  
_Right! The training room floor!_ With no classes at the moment, the control rooms and the private quarters empty, that was the only place where Leonard and Price could be! She had to verify immediately.  
“Hawk bawk! Bawk cluck-cluck hawk bah-gawk bawk hawk gawk, cluck bawk, baw-gawk haw-cluck!!”  
“Thanks!” he waved at Henrietta as she ran out of the room “I hope you have a nice day too!”

  
As she was just about to reach the training room, she started running even faster, because that situation was absolutely insane and she had to understand what was really going on. She accidentally bumped into someone, a soldier she never saw before, who was wearing a black full suit of armour.  
“BAWK!”  
“Hey, watch where you're go--” the new soldier didn't finish the sentence and stared at Henrietta for a couple of seconds. For some reason, everyone was always puzzled whenever they saw a hen on a spaceship. Not that it was easy to read an expression on a blank helmet visor, but that was the most common reaction so she figured this person was no exception.  
“...Do I know you? I've seen you somewhere.”  
“Bawk...Hawk bawk cluck-cluck...Bah-gawk.”  
“Really? That's cool.” she replied “But no, I was thinking that you remind me of an old friend of mine.”  
Henrietta froze. She was a new soldier with whom she had never interacted before that managed to understand her immediately and recognized her as someone other than a celebrity? FUCK. So it was true. It was all true! That, right in front of her, was Allison!  
“Are...Are you okay?” she kneeled and gently caressed her wings “Did I hurt you?”  
“Agent Texas?” of course Price and his creepy monotone, right behind her, had to step in and ruin everything “Please do not enter or leave any room unsupervised until further notice.”  
“I thought the training session was over. I'm just going to my room, I'm not planning to do a tour of the ship.” she noticed her tone was rather rude and awkardly tried to fix it “...Sir.”  
“Very well, then. The Director will now accompany you to your quarters while I take care of...” he glanced down at Henrietta “other matters. I'm sure it's not necessary that I repeat myself.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Alright, then. At ease, now.”  
He picked up Henrietta and walked away, whispering in her earholes as she struggled: “Please do not distract Agent Texas, we have great plans for her.”

  
That wasn't reassuring at all. Actually, it opened her eyes to numberless terrifying scenarios; it was already weird enough that Allison was somehow alive again, but that they had 'plans' for her? Oh boy. Henrietta was so shocked and in denial after seeing 'Agent Texas' that none of those last few hours felt real to her, but even without being able to completely realize what she just got herself into, she knew that it was a bad sign. It was just _too weird_ , whatever the hell was happening. She figured that Price was taking her away to tell her about it, as much as he disliked her he was required to inform her, but even so he probably would have found a way to exclude her as always. Still, if she asked a question he was required to answer, so as soon as they arrived at the office she pecked on her screen to send him a message:  
  
“ **She's my agent too. Tell me what your 'great plans' are.** ”  
“ **We are sending Agent Texas on her first mission tomorrow. The goal of the mission is to retrieve important data.** ”  
“ **Data about what?** ”  
“ **About our next objective.** ”  
“ **Which is?** ”  
“ **We would like to wait before providing any possibly misleading information. I'm sure you understand.** ”  
“ **We? Bold of you to assume that you can speak for Leonard. You can do it with the agents but not with me, so you know what? I'll ask him myself.** ”  
“ **Good luck with that.** ”  
“ **Fuck you!** ”  
“ **However, I have to inform you that the Director himself ordered me to make sure you would let him have some alone time.** ”  
“ **Time to spend with Texas?** ”  
“ **Most likely. Is it a problem for you?** ”  
“ **What do you even know about her?** ”  
“ **Not as much as I would like to know, I admit. In fact, I believe you know more about Agent Texas than I do.** ”  
“ **Sucks to be you, I guess!** ” she texted back and cackled.  
Price stared at her for a second, then proceeded to type a response, with his expression neutral as always but still emanating the most annoying aura of smugness.  
“ **I was hoping that you, as a family member of the Director, would provide me more information regarding Mrs Allison Church. I would prefer to be tactful and respect his decision of waiting until he is ready to open up, without unnecessarily exposing him to triggering questions. You have shown remarkable strength and resilience in reacting to your loss, given you have fully realized the impact of that premise.** ”  
“ **WHOA HOLD UP. These are MY family issues, you can bet your ass that there is no one that 'realizes the impact of that premise' more than I do. I won't tell you about Allison so that you can play your sick games with her too!** ”  
“ **I'm sorry to inform you, but due to the nature of Agent Texas, she and Allison Church cannot be considered the same person. Therefore, even if it was my intention, it would be impossible for me to 'play sick games with her'. Still, I would really appreciate your cooperation, we can agree that knowing what we are working with would avoid damaging her. We wouldn't want that to happen.** ”  
“ **So now it's my fault if something happens to her?** ”  
“ **I never said that. Please understand that I am merely doing my job** **by asking these questions** **and have no interest in attacking a coworker. Our disagreements should not interfere with the decisions we have to make.** ”  
  
Ugh. That guy was SO infuriating, always playing the 'I'm just doing my job' card. Fucking asshole. Then again, he wasn't wrong. He was _never_ wrong, and that was even more infuriating. That conversation had raised more questions than it answered and she felt her head buzzing with so many thoughts that they were overlying and she couldn't hear a thing.  
The only clear thing that came to her mind was that Allison was a skilled soldier so it made sense to make Beta a freelancer, but as for the rest, nothing made sense. She wondered which mission would be the one that Tex was going to join, since there were already several taking place. Carolina was one of the busiest agents, and she was instructed to intervene in the next mission in case agents North and South Dakota did not succeed. The objective was unclear, but since she was on top of the leaderboard Henrietta figured that she was trusted with the most important mission. So Carolina would have fought alongside her mother. That would have been such a happy concept, in different circumstances. Would Carolina ever be told who Agent Texas was? If so, what reaction did they have to expect from her? Would Texas even recognize her? Sadly, it was probably best if she didn't. It was too hard to explain and it wouldn't have been the same, anyway.  
And so the days went on, frantic and confusing as always, and even after Tex _did_ participate in the mission she went unnoticed, being unable to walk around the ship or meet anyone, being only allowed in the training room and in Price's office. As a robot, she couldn't sleep, but every night they would take her in Henrietta's room – that went unused anyway because she would always be with either Leonard or Price – and power her down.  
Then the day came. The day she was introduced in a training match against agents York, Maine and Wyoming. Her abilities were outstanding, she could easily beat all three of them, but then Maine and Wyoming thought she was too good and attacked her with live ammunition. York tried to help her, but inevitably he got hurt. Sure everyone was impressed by her skills, but as York was severely injured the focus was rightfully switched to him. Henrietta didn't mind the nature of the training session, even if some agents such as Washington and Connecticut expressed concern, because she knew that Tex wasn't in danger, however she couldn't help but feel sorry after that unexpected outcome.  
Tex had shot York with lockdown paint so that the explosion of Maine's grenade would cause less damage, saving his life, but he was still in a critical condition. Carolina was concerned for him more than anyone else, and she would visit him everyday, even when he was feeling better. Of course Henrietta, as her _real_ mother, would stay by her side, but one day Tex came too.  
“How is he?”  
“The doctors said he's in a stable condition for now, but he's gonna need a few days more. His left eye is...”  
“Gone?”  
“Yeah...Practically gone.”  
“That's bad.”  
“Yeah, that's bad.” Carolina repeated, failing to hide her irritation. Tex probably meant well, but the way she expressed herself while speaking came across as rather tactless and dry.  
“Well, I did what I could to help. Let me know if he gets better.”  
Carolina responded with an ambiguous grunt and kept staring at York through the window, purposely ignoring her.  
“What? You got a problem with me or something?”  
“I'm just watching over my boyfriend. The world does not revolve around you.” she barked at her, accidentally letting slip one of the other reasons why she was mad at her “You're not even on the leaderboard, I'm on top.”  
“Oh yeah?” Tex scoffed, showing at least as much irritation as she did “Just wait.”  
After that, she walked away.  
“Hawk bah-gawk.”  
“Yeah, she is. I was thinking of a worse word, though.”  
“Cluck.”  
“Worse.”  
“Hawk gawk bawk.”  
“Even worse than that.”  
“ _Cluck hawk baw-gawk?_ ”  
“Yep. That's the one.”

  
Strangely enough, after Tex's introduction the routine on the ship more or less went back to 'normal'. Henrietta felt really guilty because she couldn't help but avoid her. Did she really hate Allison? Did her envy really bring her to that point when Allison did nothing but help her and love her and give her a family? That was horrible. _Shame on you, Henrietta_. It probably was just a matter of time, maybe they would have become friends again, but that wasn't the moment. She wasn't ready yet...But she had to do something, it just wasn't right to leave her alone, so that evening she made sure to get her in the rec room where people were partying so that she could make friends. Actually, the party was for her, North Dakota had organized it to make her feel at ease and also to lighten the mood after the general madness of the past few weeks; yet, he forgot to call her to make her come there, but then again, the people in that party seemed to be a little...Unwell. Everyone was strangely relaxed and giggly, much to her annoyance, but she stopped by to greet them.  
“Uhh, hi...Thank you for this...Party.” she nodded towards the banner hanging from the ceiling – or rather, _falling_ from the ceiling – that said 'Welcome Texas'.  
“Hello, Tex! Thank YOU for coming! I hope you're having fun.” North waved with an absent smile.  
“Heh, yeah. I'm...I'm just passing by to say hi, I'm uhh...A little busy, right now.”  
“Aw, man...” he replied, slightly inconvenienced, then proceeded to hand her a tray of brownies “Please have one! It has a secret ingredient.”  
“I...I'm not really hungry.”  
“Come on, just one! Florida, Hawaii, California and I made these for you.”  
“Okay...” she reluctanctly grabbed one and headed out of the room “Well, I'm gonna go now. See ya.”  
“Bye!”

  
As she walked away, Tex figured she might as well have a bite of that brownie even if she wasn't hungry. Of course she wasn't hungry, she was a _robot_ , but she didn't seem to realize it for some reason and somehow even without having a mouth she managed to actually eat it through her helmet. It took Henrietta lots of effort to hold back a squawk of surprise and stay silent. Tex kept walking around the base to get to her room without realizing Henrietta was following her. Suddenly, after arriving and sitting on the bed, she froze for a second. _Oh_ _God_ _, please don't let her see me_.  
“Wait. Were those...Weed brownies?”  
Henrietta felt relief, for an instant she feared for the worst, but that was good. Until...  
“Maybe that's why I feel so dizzy.” Tex continued talking to herself “Man, my body feels so heavy I could just...Tear my legs off.”  
Not even the time to finish the sentence that she attempted and succeded to tear off her own robotic legs.  
“ _HOLY SHIT_.”  
In just a matter of seconds, she was practically dragging herself across the room and the corridor, making incoherent noises. She knocked on Price's door and even he seemed disturbed as he opened the door and saw her being a crumpled mess on the floor.  
“Agent Texas...? What happened to you?”  
“Counselor...I think I'm fucking high.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> put together ahahahh get it because they split him I'm so funny


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On chapter eleven we bring shit up to eleven, duh. Basically, this chapter is fucked in so many ways I can only apologize (hoes get involved, the Church family goes through hell, Price is overly zealous, hair braiding, terrifying shit). Let us have a moment of silence for Leonard's last moments on the cutie side of the spectrum.

“Director, it is time for you to choose a host body for the Beta AI.” announced the Counselor as he lead him to a room where several young women in their late twenties or early thirties were standing in a row.  
“Awlrahty, trawt aht tha laydies!” Leonard replied enthusiastically as he walked to them to examinate them closely. They all had wavy blond hair and blue eyes, _just like Allison in the few pictures that Price could get of her like the nosy ass bitch he was_ , Henrietta thought. They were all beautiful, but not enough to be compared to the real Allison.  
“Let's tayke uh look-syee. Hayte yo' haeh. Nawt lahkly. Yahyieeks. Yahks yahieeks! Aaand lehmmye guaehss, you haeve uh grayet puhsohnahluhty. Is thies reeuhlly tha baest yuh could do?”  
“This is the first group, sir. We have other candidates.”  
“Gud. Whah ahr we doin' this, uhgain?”  
“Agent Texas's robot body got damaged while she was unsupervised, and since she is bound to receive special treatment due to...Her nature, I figured it would be best to implant her in a human body during her free time in order to make the other agents less...Uncomfortable. We can easily pull her out and implant her back in her robot body for missions and classes.”  
“Mh. Ah suhppowse it maykes sense...”  
“I'm sorry, is there any problem with the candidates I have chosen? You don't seem convinced.”  
“Ah am.”  
“I beg to differ. Please let me know if you have a particular request...I'll be glad to comply.” he proceeded to nod towards all the 'Allisons' standing in a row “And so will they.”  
“Grayet...Wait, whawt?”  
“I understand that I may have misinterpreted the criteria for--”  
“It's nawt that, Ah myean...Ahre theese...” he nervously glanced at the ladies and then whispered “Ahre they whoares?”  
“Well, it certainly would be suspicious if we implanted Beta in one of our employees, we have to provide her the body of someone who isn't part of the project. We might as well choose a host that is able to...Satisfy your needs.”  
Henrietta turned to look at him “Hawk bawk?”  
“I noticed you've been feeling increasingly...Tense, lately. I'm sure that, with the right company, we can fix this easily.” he continued and then stared back at Henrietta, barely changing his expression as always but still giving her his smuggest look “Unfortunately, there is no one else who would be suitable for the job.”  
_Fucking asshole!_ He knew. That fucker knew about her feelings, somehow! Maybe Leonard told him stories about their life together? Maybe he was starting to feel the same and the only reason why he didn't confess her his love was because Price was an asshole and he was tricking him into not doing it solely for the reason that breaking her heart was so fun. Yes, that was a great explanation.  
“Ahre you ensayne?! Ah'm nawt touchin' any womuhn who's nawt mah wahf, no maetta whawt! Mah waedin' vahws are forevah!”  
_...Heh. Nevermind._  
“Director--”  
“Awlso, _hah daehr ya_ insienewayte that Ah nyeed tuh get laiyed?!”  
“Please do not take this the wrong way, I am merely try--”  
“Trahn tuh do whawt, Cownselauh, yinsuhboahdyenayeshun?!”  
“Director...”  
“Whah, whawt do YOU do tuh get laiyed en thies gawddayum spayceshyep?!” he stepped towards him very angrily, looking almost ready to hit him or something, even Henrietta was concerned for a second “Ah'm kyoryeeoeuhs.”  
“ _If I may, sir,_ the fact that I don't have a partner at the moment does not disprove my previous statement. If anything, it would mean that we both need to...'get laid'.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“ _Bawk cluck-cluck bawk hawk!_ ”  
“...Aenyeewaye, baeck tuh tha gals...”  
“Allow me to remind you that we also have other tools available. With the right incentive, I'm positive that our medical team will have no qualms about performing cosmetic and plastic surgery on these subjects, if necessary.”  
“WHAT?!” one of the prostitutes shrieked, the others alarmed at least as much as her “WE DIDN'T SIGN FOR THIS!”  
“In fact, you did. Section 4, Clause 3. We can reread the document together, if you please.”  
“Cownselauh? Yif we dawn't git thies shiet ovah wyeth emmyeedyauhtley, Ah sweah Ah'm gonna kyuhll tha--” he stopped a second to count the prostitutes “Ten awf us.”  
“...That's understandable, sir.”  
“Well, thaen...Y'ALL ARE DIZMYESSED. Awll tha remayinin' caendyedaytes ah reequahyauhd tuh cum heah foh the eggsahmyenayeshun!”  
The first group left the room and the second came in. Price clearly saved the best for last, those women were even more beautiful than the others, and seemed to resemble Allison more as Leonard seemed to look at them with genuine interest. Three in particular seemed to have caught his attention.  
“Hm...Can't deesahde wyech wone awf theez three Ah wawnt.”  
“Good enough. We can always sort them out with some...Testing.”  
“Oh...Raht. _Taestin'_.”  
What happened immediately after that was difficult to describe, to say the least, and difficult  to _understand_ even for Henrietta who was there. However, she wasn't bothered too much, unlike Leonard who was flustered and made her, Price, Allison, Allison and Allison, plus the other Allisons that were there, promise to never bring up that incident again. She didn't mind keeping the secret, many people wouldn't have approved anyway, but the testing served its purpose and the perfect candidate was chosen and implanted with Beta immediately. As for the others, Henrietta was afraid to ask what happened to them.

  
So later that night, at about 2am, Tex woke up to the familiar feeling of Leonard's hands caressing her and his lips planting gentle kisses on her neck. Still dizzy from sleep, she closed her eyes and hummed in contentment, and from what she caught a glimpse of, she was in her house, the room was practically identical. _Then she realized_. That wasn't her house, it was the Mother Of Invention, which just happened to have a room that looked the same as hers, and most importantly, _that wasn't her boyfriend touching her_!  
She pulled away with a gasp, falling from the bed, and noticed that her body – which she was unknowingly seeing for the first time – was completely naked. Her first instinct was to cover herself with her hands. Henrietta, who that night slept in a corner of that same room, felt heartbroken seeing her so scared and confused when the Director – because to Tex he was just the Director – sat up on the bed at looked down at her. His eyes, that were so loving and happy a few seconds before, if only in contemplation of the idea of Allison, were now back to showing that unbearable amount of pain that Henrietta was so used to seeing. That broke her heart even more.  
Unfortunately, she had to admit it was normal and even reasonable of Tex to think that he had tried to force himself on her while she was unconscious, that maybe he even succeeded in doing so, and it hurt so much. First of all because she had spent so much time with Leonard after Allison's death and she could swear _on Carolina_ that he loved her more than anything, that he expressed everyday the wish to go back in time and die instead of her, that he was everything but an abuser.

  
On the other hand, she realized that Tex had no idea what was happening and had confused memories about everything, the room being exactly like the one she and her boyfriend shared in the apartment – hell, it _was_ that room! - didn't help at all...And the fact that she remembered Alpha but not the real Leonard could only lead to more lies and confused memories. Leonard was blinded by the love and the pain, but Henrietta could clearly see she had come back wrong. For some reason, her mind went to the Counselor in thinking that he would see Tex as some sort of abomination of nature, and she would agree, without any problem. It was true, and not a thought born out of envy as always; she didn't even have to associate that thought with Price, actually, because she could identify within herself a sense of guilt that she just knew wasn't due to that. She felt guilty about not being able to do anything to make the situation better, about knowing that she couldn't bring Allison back, about Leonard _not_ knowing that he couldn't bring her back...And pitiful thinking about Tex's condition as a whole. Henrietta felt also really conflicted, but she decided to stand between Tex and the bed, this time she had to protect her. She owed it to her. Even if meant protecting her from Leonard's love. He was just caressing her in a moment of weakness and meant anything but harm, but of course Tex couldn't possibly know that and perceived it as an assault.  
“Alisuhn...Cum baeck heah...”  
“NO!” she frantically looked around to find something to cover herself with, no use “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!”  
“Ah dyeed nuthin' that you diyeduhn't wawnt me tuh do...Ah'd rahthah dah than heuhrt ya.”  
“THEN DIE, WHAT THE FUCK?!”  
“Bawk!”  
“I mean...” she paled, remembering that he was a superior “What the fuck, sir!”  
Leonard shook his head and then for the first time since the project started he spoke calmly, with a sadness and sweetness that were so _real_ that, despite her previous reaction, Tex actually listened:  
“Heah's whawt haeppeuhned: Ah remahnded you awf sumwone, you remahnded me awf sumwone and...Wie juhst wawnted tuh pretehnd tuh byee wyeth ouah lahvas. Thaet's yeet. Wie just cuhddleuhd...Wyethaht clothes awn, but Ah uhsshore ya it was nuthin' moah than that.”  
“I...” Tex stopped to look at him carefully and was immediately mesmerized by his face, completely lowering her guard when she saw his unmistakable green eyes in particular. “Yeah...You _do_ remind me of someone.”  
He slowly got up and started looking for something in one of the drawers. Of course he hadn't had the courage to throw Allison's clothes away, and while Henrietta was tempted to just leave them where they were and let them 'haunt' whoever was going to live in their apartment next, she knew he'd never forgive her if she didn't ship them to the Mother Of Invention.  
“Yup.” Tex laughed as she shamelessly stared at him while he had his back turned “You _definitely_ remind me of someone.”

  
Henrietta couldn't help but cackle: after all those years of trying to get Leonard's attention more than the memory of Allison did, she was happy to just stay there in complete silence and witness that interaction, it was like the good old days, it made her feel warm inside and actually realize how much she missed Allison too. Having to be the strong one didn't leave her much time to mourn properly. But here she was, hoping to hear Tex, who was terrified just two minutes before, crack jokes forever. Leonard walked up to her and handed her a black babydoll dress.  
“Heah.”  
“Glad to know we wear the same size!” she taunted him, forgetting once again that he was a superior, but then again, they were both naked so it wasn't exactly a professional context “You don't look like the crossdressing type.”  
“It's nawt mahn...But Ah'd look grayt en et!” he chuckled and it was the best thing in the world. No one of them could believe that that moment was actually happening.  
“ _Hawk bawk_.” Henrietta agreed solemnly. She looked up and she saw him help Tex get up and put her dress on, not that she had to go somewhere this time, but she always had, somehow, so he did it out of habit. It was too intimate given the situation, rationally speaking, and yet Tex trusted him for a reason that even she didn't know, spontaneously sitting on his knees when he sat on the bed. She closed her eyes and heard him open the drawer of the bedside table. She let out a pleased hum when he started brushing her hair.  
“Hah dieddya know Ah was goin' tuh doo thies?”  
“I have no idea.” she shrugged “It was...Just a feeling.”  
“Yeah...Sumtahms tha hewmuhn mahnd is fuhnnye lahk that...”  
Henrietta was still on the floor, and for a second she closed her eyes as well to assimilate the moment completely, then she opened them again in fear that it would all disappear. She just wanted to see them happy. They seemed to have forgotten about her presence, but she was glad for it, it was like a vision and she believed that if she stayed quiet then maybe it would never end.  
“So...Did you do this for her every time?”  
“Yeah. Shie'd awlwayes loose heuh payshunce whahl trahn tuh brayed heuh haeh, so shie'd juhst do uh pawnyetayuhl or sum maessye buhn, thaen Ah'd uhndo et and stahrt ovah. She lahked whaen Ah haelped heuh...”  
“Oh yeah? She sounds like someone I'd get along with, I _hate_ doing my hair!” she exclaimed “Luckily I've got my man back home who likes to do this kind of thing too, it relaxes him or something.”  
“Mayebe it's juhst uh waye fo' hiem tuh show ya hah muhch he lahvs ya.” he smiled sweetly as he put the brush down and started making a braid. She nodded.  
“Probably! He is romantic like that, when he's not shouting and shaking like an angry chihuahua, which is all the fucking time, but--”  
“Cum awn, eet can't byee thaht bad.”  
“Oh, no, he's an asshole! Trust me on this, _he's an asshole like you wouldn't believe!_ ”  
He playfully pulled her hair 'accidentally'. Henrietta tried not to cackle at that.  
“OW!”  
“Sawwry.” he smirked “Bin uh lawng whahl syence lahst tahm.”  
“It's okay.” she let out a dreamy sigh “Can't wait to come home and ask that asshole to marry me and make our own lil shit together.”  
“Yeffit's uh gal you can awlwayes haeve hiem brayed heuhr haeh. Ah know Ah dyieed back yin tha dayez.”  
“You have a daughter?”  
“Ah do. Shie's uh byeg gahl nah. You know heuh, shie's Aygeuhnt Caerh'lahna.”  
“Really? No way!”  
“Ah'm nawt kyeddin'. Shie's mah dawdah.”  
“Wow...I...Didn't expect that, not gonna lie, but I guess can see it now.” she made a brief pause, then she added “She's beautiful.”  
“Shie taykes heuh bewty ahfteuh heuh mahtha.”  
“She has your eyes, though.”  
“Yeah...”  
A moment of silence followed, and as Leonard finished braiding her hair, Tex got up. Apparently staying quiet, as helpful as it was, could not make that moment last forever...But Tex turned around and smiled at Henrietta as she reached the door:  
“Hey Henrietta, can you come with me for a second?”  
“Bah-gawk!”  
“Wheh ahr yuh goin'?”  
“I'll be right back.”

  
Henrietta followed Tex out of the room and in the elevator. It was nice to be beside her without saying anything, it was as if they could give each other love by simply enjoying the other's presence. Seeing her walk around the spaceship in the middle of night gave Henrietta a strange feeling, especially since it was established during testing that that body was identical to the original in every inch, save for a few scars that were promptly added during said testing – things had gotten a little out of hand, indeed - , and with no one else up at that time it didn't feel real.  
“Bawk cluck bah-gawk cluck?”  
“Can you take me to Carolina's room?”  
“Bawwk?”  
“I don't know why...But please.”  
“Cluck-cluck.”  
Henrietta complied. She knew for certain that Tex didn't remember Carolina, or she would have mentioned having a child, but she figured that that conversation with Leonard must have had triggered something in her. When Tex entered the room she just watched Carolina sleep, without knowing why she was doing it. They had not interacted much, and the few times they did Carolina was rude to her and she had to put her back into her place, and yet...Tex felt the need to watch her sleep, and although she had to fight that urge she ended up leaning to kiss her forehead. Not a wise move, as Carolina woke up after that contact. Her green eyes, identical to Leonard's, slowly opened and processed _who_ was that next to her bed. She sat up immediately.  
“...Mom?!”  
Tex froze for half a second, then started backing away slowly. She couldn't talk or Carolina would have recognized her and she didn't have an explanation for what she just did. Henrietta did, though, and _God_ did she want to tell the truth to both of them, but she couldn't. For the sake of the project, of the human race, of what the real Allison stood up for, she had to keep the secret. That was the greater good and she imagined that telling them would have been counterproductive, but in that moment she stopped and _prayed_ for it to be worth it, because it surely didn't feel like it. Carolina's expression finally did it in. It was such a lost expression, like the true face of a little girl looking for her mom. All these years trying to get noticed by her father had probably made Carolina forget how much she missed Allison too, and now that she was being reminded all of a sudden it hurt.  
Tex felt really stupid for putting herself into that situation, especially since Leonard had practically just told her that she reminded him of Carolina's mother, so of course the poor girl was going to think it was her. She couldn't do anything but open the door and run away.  
“WAIT!” Carolina got out of bed and chased her down the corridor out of her room, but she was too fast for her and seemed to disappear, so she looked around and when she didn't see her mother she fell on her knees and started crying silently in the middle of the corridor. Henrietta was about to emit a squawk at the sight of that but Tex, who was hiding and holding her in her arms, shushed her.  She proceeded to head back to Leonard's room, directing a guilty look at Henrietta while they were in the elevator.  
“Sorry for involving you in this. I'm an idiot and I don't know why the fuck I did that.”  
“Hawk bawk. Cluck-cluck bah-gawk.”  
“You seem really close with Carolina and the Director.”  
“Cluck. Hawk bawk cluck bawk bawk, cluck cluck baw-cluck bawk. Gawk.”  
“Wow, really?”  
“Bah-gawk!”  
“You're great.” she gently put her down as the elevator doors opened once they arrived at the right floor “Come on, let's go.”

  
Tex walked back in the Director's room and found him laying in bed half asleep. She considered going to sleep in 'her' room, but she had promised to come back, if only to say goodnight, and also all the things that she was feeling were so confusing that trying to rationalize them alone wasn't going to work. Plus, they didn't feel bad, it was a sense of nostalgia that she knew she hadn't experienced in a long time. Now she was catching his eyes that had such a bittersweet light while looking at her, and she reciprocated the faint smile he directed at her.  
“I'm back.” she whispered as she sat next to him to greet him “Do you want me to leave you alone or...?”  
“Pleeuhz staye...” he took her hand, which she caressed with her thumb “Eevuhn juhst uh lyeuhttuhl moah...”  
“Sure.” she replied, slipping under the covers and laying next to him “Goodnight.”  
“Ah don't want tuh fawll uhslyeep.”  
She didn't understand why he would say something like that, but Henrietta did. It felt like someone just stabbed her in the heart. She didn't want that moment to be over either, and she could see that Leonard was so tired yet also so _afraid_ to fall asleep that he was ready to hurt himself as long as it could help him stay awake...But of course Tex had no idea.  
“Why?”  
“Ah can't saye...”  
“Just close your eyes...It's gonna be alright. I promise.”  
“Heh. Prawmyesed?” he echoed bitterly “Remaembah whaen-- Oh...”  
A long moment of silence followed. Now he was definitely sad, and Tex knew that she hated seeing him sad, at least in that moment, maybe because he looked so much like the man she loved. What was that asshole even up to, anyway? Probably waiting for her, somewhere, and certainly staying completely loyal. It was not like he didn't attract other women, but he just didn't care and only had eyes for her. The feeling was completely mutual, until that very night. She glanced at Henrietta for a moment, as if to ask for permission, because as inconvenient as that situation was she knew that Henrietta was the one who knew better. When she received a look of approval, she felt relieved, like the mistake she was about to make was going to be justified, so she just...Made it.

  
Neither of them expected that to happen, Tex was born just a few days earlier and spent all her time so far inside of a robot body that was activated sparingly for training and that one mission – plus, of course, the experiments, but those did nothing but suggest that there was something wrong with her. Yet there she was, kissing the Director like the real Allison would have done, becoming more and more passionate as he responded. As they started getting more intimate, Henrietta left the room to leave them alone, and went in the empty room next door, staring at Tex's empty suit of armour. They were busy for quite some time, and _loud_ , much to her discomfort – she had forgotten how loud they used to be.  
A little while after they had calmed down, she figured they had fallen asleep and decided to knock – or  rather, peck – on  Price's door so that he could move the AI from the human body back to the robot. How did he sleep through all that noise, anyway? His room was right there. Then again, there was not one thing about that man that didn't raise questions. The fact that he opened the door immediately was probably another thing to add to the list.  
“...Bawk?”  
“Oh. Please, come in.” he greeted her with his usual fakeness. She complied and entered his room, annoyed by how perfectly clean and tidy it was, renouncing to her goal of finding signs of human weakness in it, and jumped on his bed out of spite. He didn't even bother to put her down on the floor and sat next to her. In that moment she noticed that the bed was already made. What the fuck, Price.  
“I assume you're here to submit a complaint about the noise.” he taunted her “Unfortunately, that's not part of my jurisdiction.”  
_Bitch._  
“BAWK HAWK BAWK, GAWK HAWK-CLUCK BAH-GAWK!” she bawked while flailing her wings, showering him with a series of insults for which there was no equivalent in human language. “There there...I'm sure you're perfectly capable of being just as loud.” he replied with something unusual about his condescension, even caressing her wings, if only to make her uncomfortable.  
“...Hawk cluck-cluck?” she tried to pull away, but he held her into place and deliberately plucked one of her feathers, making her squawk in pain. “BAH-GAAAWK!”  
“Mmm, just like that...” he plucked another one “Anything else you would like to say?”  
Henrietta pulled away and got on his desk, then proceeded to peck on her device to write him a message.  
“ **I'm here to remind you to move Tex from that whore to her robot body, dumbass.** ”  
He got up to check the message and proceeded to give her a smug look, for a change.  
“Of course. Well,” he started fetching all his stuff to get ready for the morning “thank you for making time to be useful. _I know this must be very hard for you._ ”  
He gave her a fake pout for a second and then closed the bathroom door behind him, leaving her alone in the room. And even if he couldn't read that at the moment, she felt the need to reply with a message:  
“ **I fucking hate you.** ”  
  
Then the time for work finally came. Felt like that night lasted forever, but now everything was back to normal. Well, normal for the standards of Project Freelancer. Tex woke up in her robot body without any memory of what happened, Leonard had to pretend not to be distraught because of that, Henrietta had to be strong for him, Price was just happy to be there and be an asshole, regular head staff routine. Every now and then, Tex would stare at Henrietta with what could have been a questioning expression if she had a face. Strangely enough, it was like she sent a vibe to her and Henrietta actually understood what she was asking, she was asking if the confused images that were now coming back to her mind were just a dream. Henrietta couldn't answer.  
That whole situation was going to be difficult to handle, yes, but the only thing she cared about in that moment was Carolina. The girl did good during the morning training, but she seemed...Off. Distracted. Tired. Henrietta hoped she didn't spend the whole night crying after what happened, but unfortunately she knew it was true, so she had to follow her for the rest of the day and make sure she was okay. She caught her peeking at an old family picture that she kept in her locker, and apparently she wasn't the only one.  
“Hey, there, Carolin-AAHH!” it definitely wasn't a good idea of York to surprise her that way, as she accidentally hit him in the face with the door.  
“Damn it, York, you scared me!” she barked at him, then noticed he was holding the bandage covering his eye “Are you okay?”  
“I was better before you slammed the locker door in my face, but other than that I'm okay! Gonna need a few more days, now, but...”  
“I'm sorry, I was just...” she sighed “I was just lost in my thoughts.”  
“Yeah, I noticed that. What are you looking at?”  
“This picture from when I was a child.” she showed it to him “I think I was about five or six when we took this.”  
“Oh, look, Henrietta is there too!” he exclaimed in surprise “And who's this beautiful blonde kid with the braids and a chipped front tooth?”  
“I got that falling from a tree, I would always try to get on top of everything.”  
“Yeah.” he laughed “I can see that!”  
“My father yelled at me for half an hour after that.”  
“Oh, right...Has the Director always been...You know, like this?”  
Henrietta pecked the fabric of York's pants to call him out. Carolina's expression darkened.  
“No, he's not always been like this...”  
“Oh...”  
“He's the one who always braided my hair, you know.”  
“Really?”  
“At one point he just...Stopped doing that, but yeah. People change.”  
“I don't think I've ever seen you in braids before.”  
“I'm a big girl now.” she smiled bitterly “I grew out of that.”  
York didn't know what to say and just stared at her in silence. After a minute, she spoke again.  
“I dreamed of my mom, tonight.”  
“You never talked about her much...But from the picture she seems like a nice lady.”  
“She was.” she nodded “It's strange how grief works, sometimes. You go on for so much time without thinking about someone, you think you're over it and then...It hits you again, all of a sudden.”  
“Carolina...I'm so sorry...”  
“It's okay.” she closed the door of her locker “We all have bad days, and I guess that's okay.”  
“That's a step forward, you usually say we can't afford to have bad days.”  
“Yeah.” she glanced at the big leaderboard that was hanging in the room “We can't.”

 

As a few more days went by, Henrietta kept watching over Carolina more and more. Luckily, York was helping her, and although he didn't seem to take her seriously – feeling that was mutual, by the way - , he seemed like a good ally. She was tempted to look after Tex as well, but Carolina was distraught and having the only parent that was _actually_ parenting neglect her would have made her feel even worse. So she stayed by her side all the time, cuddling with her, feeding her worms just like when she was a child, hoping to make her feel better. One evening, someone knocked on her door.  
“Um...Hi, guys. What are you two doing here?”  
“Here.” Maine handed her a mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows in it “For you.”  
“I...” she grabbed the mug with a puzzled expression “Thanks?”  
“York told us you're feeling sad lately, so we decided to come here and cheer you up.” explained Washington, proudly showing a bag of candy “I brought gummy worms! I heard you love them.”  
“Oh. Right...Gummy worms.” she held back a nervous laugh as she allowed them in the room, then she sat on her bed “So York sent you.”  
“Kinda.” said Maine.  
“We decided to come, but he wanted to give us some instructions, so we brought hot cocoa and candy.” he opened the bag and started eating a gummy worm, now dorkily speaking with a full mouth as he would usually do “He also told us to braid your hair and to 'make sure we're doing it right like he would' because he's 'that good with his hands', take that how you want...” he added, clearly uncomfortable with that joke. Henrietta cackled, almost startling him who didn't notice her presence at first.  
“Mh...” Carolina took a sip of her cocoa “He says it but it's not true.”  
Henrietta cackled again, even louder when a flustered Washington choked on his snack.  
“But jokes aside...Don't take this the wrong way, but don't braid my hair. It just wouldn't be the same, okay?”  
“Okay.” nodded Maine.  
“We can, uhh...We can still play a game or something? If you guys want, of course.”  
“Sure.”  
“Oh!” Washington looked down and noticed that the silly plush slippers he was wearing weren't his “Aw man, I put on CT's slippers again!”  
“Did she forget them in your room after anime night again?” Carolina taunted him.  
“Well... _Maybe_. Okay, yeah.” he lowered his head in embarrassment, then turned to Henrietta “Can you please go look for CT and tell her? I'll give them back tomorrow.”  
“Bawk bawk!”

  
Yes, Connecticut was one of the few people that understood her, for some reason. The others being Puerto Rico and, of course, her family. They had not interacted much, but she seemed nice, although sometimes a bit difficult to deal with. She had a so called 'commander contrarian' attitude going on, according to Henrietta, but little did she know what corrupt business she was up to. Project Freelancer half the time, and the Insurrection the other half of the time. Henrietta had heard that there was a traitor on board, but she didn't know who it was. She figured she would learn soon enough, as Price was working on finding out and he was capable of organizing quite the interrogation scene...But for now, CT was a friend, and apparently Tex thought the same, as Henrietta saw her speak to her in a room nearby. She was about to just call CT and give her the message, but it could wait, she wanted to hear what the two were talking about, especially since it sounded like something serious.  
“Did you get that thing you were looking for?”  
“I don't need it anymore.” replied Tex, still in armour, with a somber tone “But thank you for helping.”  
“Why, did you get your period?” asked CT, who then proceeded to continue her though to fix the awkwardness of the question “Because sometimes it looks like you're on your period, but it's a different type of bleeding and you're actually pregnant, so you should get a test anyway...Although I don’t really know at what point that happens.”  
“I spoke about this with the Counselor a few days ago, and turns out I can't have children.”  
A long moment of silence followed.  
_Oh no, he didn't_. He didn't just lie to Tex that way about something that important. She had even said she looked forward to having children with Leonard...Alpha...Leonard? Whatever, it was fucked up to say the least. Yet once again, that was the most reasonable solution. Tex had to believe she was human, and so did everyone else. She would have started having questions about her own body, and in a project of that importance they couldn't bother to let human things such as periods and pregnancy get in the way of their implantation schedule. Maybe they were even doing her a favour by breaking the illusion, in a certain sense. After all, they were doing that for the greater good, because they were the good guys, and sometimes sacrifices were to be made. An AI wouldn't have been able to have children, anyway...  
“Tex...Oh my God. I'm sorry, I...I had no idea.”  
“Neither did I.” she replied bitterly, her voice trembling more and more as she kept talking, as if her robot body was capable of producing tears and she was holding them back “Apparently I'm too damaged down there because I was shot in the lap during that one mission I went on and they removed my uterus and I forgot about it? I don't know what to tell you, Connie, I just...Keep forgetting everything, lately. Man, I barely have memories of that one-night-stand that I thought got me pregnant in the first place! Maybe I'm...Just stressed, I don't know.”  
“I'm so sorry you have to go through this.” sighed Connecticut, who clearly didn't seem completely convinced by that version and probably thought that the head staff couldn't be trusted but wanted to focus on comforting Tex in that moment “If there is anything I can do for you, please tell me. Don't hesitate to call me, I'll try my best to help.”  
“...Thank you.”  
Henrietta remained in silence and completely heartbroken. She tried not to think about all the wrong things that just happened, and those that still had to happen, which seemed to be _a lot_. Way too many. If anything, among all those lies, Tex had a friend...


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tex is a queen, Leonard is crazy, Price is wild, what else is new? Henrietta's opinion on all of this, actually. As originally intended to be a breather after the last one (although it ended up twice as fucked up, if only for comedic purposes rather than tragic ones), this chapter also serves as an appreciation post for our brave agents from chapter 9 that now guard the Sarcophagus: Private Parts, who is probably the actually woke one but only gets punched, and the overly zealous Justin Case, who is seemingly immortal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: mentioned suicide attempt, guilt tripping about said subject (it's presented en passant and not in detail but still not cool). Implied torture. Mild sexist remarks (+ possible slutshaming depending on how you view it), vomit & blood (briefly)

“Hey.”  
“Yeah?”  
“You ever wonder why we're here?”  
“You know what, Case? I ask myself that question everyday: why are we here? I know that gathering intel is always good but man, I signed to fight aliens and I'm pretty sure everyone else has as well. Have you seen a single goddamn alien since you've been recruited? I haven't. It's almost like we've been hired with that premise but actually always have to be involved in other stuff that we did _not_ sign for, without knowing our real role in all this shitshow. If we aren't fighting aliens, then who are the bad guys? Are there any good guys or bad guys at all? What if _we_ are the bad guys and don't even know it?”  
A moment of silence followed. Justin Case just stared incredulously at his teammate 'Private Parts', who stared back awkwardly.  
“...I meant why are we _here_ , guarding a box.”  
“Oh. Right.”  
“What was all that stuff about morality?”  
“Huh? Nothing...”  
“Do you wanna talk about it?”  
“No.”  
“You sure?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Seriously, though. Why are we guarding a box? They said 'we better have someone guard it, just in case', so I intervened and then they sent you, yeah, but still...Why, of all things, are we guarding a _box_?”  
“It's not 'a box', dude, it's The Sarcophagus.”  
“That's just the name of the box, dumbass. My point still stands. What is inside of it that is so important?”  
“So you think there's something going on too. Maybe they _are_ hiding something! Maybe it's info about the aliens, or something!”  
“Nah, I'll leave the conspiracy theories to you, bud. I'm just curious. Also, why would they hide something from us by having us guard it? It doesn't make any sense.”  
“A-HA! That's _exactly_ what they want you to think. Don't you understand? They are using our status of unimportant soldiers against us, if something is given to us then we won't doubt it! They're playing us like a fiddle, man, and you're not even noticing! I think I might be onto something and they don't want me to investigate further, otherwise why would the Counselor try to invalidate me and prescribe me medication for my – quote unquote – 'psychotic delusions'?”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Uhhh...What the fuck, dude?”  
“ _Think about it_.”  
“You know what?” Case nodded sarcastically “I think you might be right, Parts. I think you should open it, maybe you'll find an alien for you to fight or something.”  
“Pft, an alien? Are you making fun of me?”  
“There is only one way to find out!”  
“Hm...I see your p--”  
“On the other hand, though, this might as well be a test. Do I have to remind you what we saw the other day? Fucking New Hampshire, dude: 6'6'' tall, tough as hell, he walked out of the office crying like a baby after he was interrogated! They want to find the traitor and still haven't found them, so everything is a test, even more than before. Remember when they sent Chone and Spike on that suicide mission to steal Charon's milk? It was a test to see if they were ready to steal the cereal too.”  
“Oh shit, maybe--”  
“But on the _other other hand_ , if the Director is so worried about finding them it must mean that he _does_ have something to hide.”  
Parts stared at the Sarcophagus for a minute, unable to decide what to do.  
“So do you want me to open it or not?”  
“I bet with 479er, Tex, York and Wyoming against California, Florida, Hawaii and Kansas that you're too much of a pussy to open it.”  
“WHAT?! NO ONE CALLS PRIVATE PARTS A PUSSY!”  
“Well, I mean, technically--”  
  
“BAWK BAH-GAWK GAWK!” Henrietta interrupted them, at which they were startled but only for a second. It was more how loud she was that scared them rather than her finding out what they were doing, God forbid somebody ever took her seriously. That was a big mistake, anyway, she could've told Leonard whatever and he would make sure to fuck up anyone who was feeling like doing acts of insubordination, she could _easily_ do that. Well, not really, their relationship was getting more and more tense, for some reason. It wasn't like they didn't love each other anymore, but ever since Tex appeared for the first time he was...Different. Price was already taking him away from her with all those excuses about 'what's best for the project' and so on, so it was difficult, but after Tex it reached a point of no return. Sure, there still supposedly was the pride, but her picture as the employee of the month being hung in various places around the facility wasn't enough, especially since it was never actually changed and was just there catching dust. Sometimes Price would clean it, but that was merely a passive aggressive 'you might want to change that, sweetie' kind of remark. Not that he minded receiving recognition from them, but he was just outraged that a chicken was holding such an important title. Especially since her role was considered questionable. She would work on the maintainance and betterment of the intranet and be a mediator between the actual head staff and command. Then again, she felt still left out, as they seemed to be plotting something that had to take place in the medical wing where she wasn't allowed, or of course it would have been unsanitary. Fucking assholes.  
  
“Uhhh...Hello?”  
“Hawk bawk! Cluck-cluck gawk cluck bah-gawk cluck, bawwwk? Cluck.”  
“How the fuck are we supposed to understand what that meant?”  
“I don't know, man, it probably doesn't mean anything anyway.”  
“Bah-gawwwk?!”  
“Dude, I think you just made it angry.”  
_It_. Back at it again with the dehumanizing attitude, God did she hate when people did that. She was just about to jump them but she was interrupted by a sound followed by FILSS's voice.  
_Ding dong._  
“Attention, please. Agents Justin Case and Willy Parts are required to move the Sarcophagus to the laboratory. All equipment must be handled with care. If any damage is detected on the inside or outside of the Sarcophagus, you will be held reponsible and punished accordingly. Have a nice day!”  
The two soldiers looked at each other for a split second and then proceeded to move the Sarcophagus long the corridor, Henrietta jumped on top and stared at them from there. It took FILSS's intervention for them to follow orders but at least she could assert dominance like that, and the fact that the corridor was very, very long just gave her more time. Oh, this was going to be good.  
“Baaaaaaawk! Cluck-cluck-cluck, bawk!”  
“Uhhh...”  
“Just ignore it, if it said something important they'd make sure to translate it for us.”  
“Eh, I guess you're right.”  
“Strange, though.”  
“What's strange?”  
“That you're not questioning the fact that the chicken is part of the head staff.”  
“Why would I? What are you, a human supremacist or something?”  
“I...” Justin interrupted himself with a sigh “Of course not. Well, here we are!”

The door opened and they wheeled the Sarcophagus into the lab. Henrietta jumped from it into the Director's arms but he promptly dropped her and inspected the outside, then he proceeded to enter a code and took a few steps back. He ordered the two soldiers to take off the lid and they reluctantly complied. They didn't expect to see what was inside, and Henrietta was surprised by that order well. She squawked when the content was revealed. A Huragok?! Really?! What dirty business was Charon up to to have a Huragok in one of their facilities? Well, now it was Project Freelancer's, so it didn't matter anymore, they were not giving that back. It could have been useful to repair any defective piece of technology, it was worth Maine getting shot for, so she guessed that was good news.  
Henrietta clucked uncomfortably, she felt like she was supposed to know about it already, after all the mission where the agents retrieved it wasn't out of the blue, rather a consequence of months and months of studying and gathering data ever since the Dakota twins infiltered the oil platform. The only change she noticed was that Tex seemed to remember less and less about the real Allison's life – and the various implantation/removal alternations didn't help. Two of the available host bodies died because of that, which was outrageous for Henrietta, traumatizing for Leonard and, _his words_ , fascinating for Price. Asshole.

  
In fact, Henrietta didn't have any say in the treatment of the two Ais, and the fact that she was busy taking care of Carolina after the 'dream' she had was used against her as an excuse to keep her unaware. She didn't get the opportunity to get close to Tex, much less to Alpha, which she figured was a mistake in hindsight, but she felt taking care of Carolina was more important. She learned from her that Tex was now on top of the leaderboard, that York recovered from his eye injury and that a delicate surgery was being performed on Maine. The poor man had taken nine shots to the throat and was hit by a truck, how he was still alive was a mystery and a miracle. Carolina, York and Washington were very concerned about his well-being, and of course if Carolina watched him then so did Henrietta.  
As for Alpha, she barely ever spoke to him anyway, but now as her focus shifted to him again, she felt that atmosphere was triggering some instinct inside of her for which she had to protect him. While the others were busy with the Huragok and a stasis unit, she stared at the Alpha and he seemed different, a little...Off. Scared, sad, but also too tired to express it properly. While Case and Parts wheeled the Sarcophagus with the alien engineer out of the room, she calmly peeked inside the screen where Alpha was kept.

  
“Bawk bawk. Bah-gawk hawk cluck?”  
“Hey...Do I...Do I know you?”  
“Bawk bah-cluck?! Hawk bawk cluck, bawk cluck-cluck, bawwk!”  
“Oh, right...Glad to know you're okay, at least. I'm sorry, I'm just...Really tired.”  
“Bawk? Cluck bawk cluck?!” She flailed her wings, trying to ask him what happened, but she wasn't alone in the room and she was bound to be interrupted.  
“Your jawb yis dun, Ahlphwa. Lawg awf.”  
Alpha complied and a moment of silence followed.  
“Bawk bah-gawk?! Cluck cluck! Bawk cluck.”  
“Whawt am _Ah_ doin'? Moar lahk whawt ahr _you_ doin' heah? Thies yis hahdley yo' byeezness, Hennie.”  
“What the Director is trying to say,” _thank God there was Price making the situation less annoying_ “is that according to the schedule you are supposed to be making an evaluation of today's intranet activity with a detailed report about every profile.”  
“Cluck...Hawk-bawk gawk bawk.”  
“Ugh, juhst do aes you're told, gawwdayumnyieet! Whah caen't you syempleh shut tha fuhck up and do yo' jawb?!”  
_I could have said the same thing when I drove Carolina home from school to show you the craft_ _s_ _she made you for Father's Day and we found you half dead on the kitchen floor,_ she angrily thought. Except she realized that she accidentally bawked it out loud, and his face...Oh God, his face. His lips were quivering and he was trying not to cry. This time she really messed up and there was nothing she could say that could fix the situation. She had sworn she'd never guilt trip Leonard for being depressed and suicidal, and she never did until that exact moment, and over something so stupid...If their relationship was already compromised, _that_ was the point of no return, not Tex. She tried to say something to justify her response, although she couldn't, but he didn't give her the time and just clenched his fists and started rightfully yelling at her for her 'insubordination':  
“OKAY, awlraht, well, Ah guaess yuh thank you're priehty hawt shiet, huh?! Well, guess WHAWT?! _Wie_ ahr tha _HAWTTEST SHIET THAT THERE IS_! YIN FAECT, WIE'RE SO HAWT, WIE'RE LAHK UH JYAUHNT BAEG AWV SHIET THAT'S LYET AWN FAIYAH, AND THAEN YUH PUTET AWN YAH NAYEGHBOUR'S DOWRSTAEP, RANG THA DOWBAELL, AND RUHN UHWAYE YIN THA MYEDDUHL AWF THA NAHT! AND THEN YO NAYEGHBOUR CUMS AHT YIN HIES ROWBE, AND HIES SLYEPPUHS, AND HIE'S LAHK: 'WHAWT'S THIES? OH, YIEET'S UH JYAUHNT BEUHNYEN' BAEG AWN MAH DOWRSTAEP! AH BETTAH PUT THAET AHT!' SO HE STAHTS STAWMPYEN' AWN YIT! HIE'S STAWMPYEN' AWN THA FAIYAH, BUT GUAESS WHAWT?! HIE'S NAWT STAWMPYEN' AWN FAIYAH! HIE'S! STAWMPYEN'! AWN! _SHIET!_ AND THAT HAWT SHIET AWN THA BAWDUHM AWF HYEES SLYEPPEUHS?! _THAT'S UHS_!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Hawk bah-gawk cluck bawk gawk.”  
“YOU ahr uh really wyeuhd fuhckin' maetaphoar! Am Ah raht, Cownselauh?”  
Price glanced back and forth from him to Henrietta, without understanding what the fuss was about. He seemed to be alarmed and interested at the same time.  
“...Of course, sir.”

  
“Vaery well, thaen. Syeence Ah'm uh lieuhttle, uhh...” he sighed, trying to find a proper word “ _Fuhckin' pyessed awff at thies stupied byetch_ , would ya lahk tuh fyeuhl heuh in fo' me?”  
“...Are you sure, Director?”  
“Yah, Ah'm shore.”  
“When Agent Texas came into existance as a byproduct of the Alpha--” he was interrupted by a loud gunshot that hit the wall behind him and gasped, clearly Leonard's angry outburst wasn't over.  
“That was uh woahnyen' shawt. Hah manye tahms dyieed Ah tell yuh to nawt cawll heuh thaet?!”  
“My apologies, sir. It will not happen again.”  
“Yeet bettah nawt happeuhn uhgayn or tha naext one's endin' raht byietween yo' ahs!”  
“Of course...Permission to continue the explanation?”  
“Go uhead.”  
“When Agent Texas came into” he glanced at Leonard who dramatically cocked his gun “...The freelancer facility, we figured that since it is not possible to copy an AI, we can use an alternative method to make the material that we already have more...Accessible.”  
“...Bawk?”  
“More specifically,” he ignored Henrietta and continued “we are isolating specific characteristics of the Alpha into compartmentalized units. These units will be paired with a suitable agent and they will assist them in battle, allowing them to access a wider range of enhancements. For this reason, we would like you to provide as much data as possible about our agents' activity. I'm sure you understand.”

  
Henrietta stared at Price for a second. He was trying to be convincing, but the way he changed the subject was suspicious. 'Compartmentalized units' merely sounded like a fancy way to say 'fragments', and that wasn't a good sign. How does one split a person into multiple different people? Because Alpha was a person, after all. Maybe in the form of an AI, but still a person. She could see how the process might have been useful, but what did the process exactly consist of? Would its usefulness be enough to say it was worth it? Of course she could already hear him say that he was valueing a more scientific approach, complete with some seemingly reasonable word salad about how her concern regarding ethical matters was just a projection of her own insecurities, of her own being bad at being a person since she was 'just a hen anyway' and surely the last individual who had any say in the saving of the human species.  
“Yeah, wye're splyettin' tha Ay-Ah lahk wye'd splyet uh hyumuhn mahnd, bah braykin' it through straessfuhl syeenarious . Yeah, we know thaet toarchure yis eellyeeguhl, and no, we dawn't caer becawse Ah'm doin' thies tuh mahself so eet dahsuhnt and shoulduhnt cownt.”  
“BAWK CLUCK-CLUCK GAWK?!”  
This was too much. Leonard was officially completely insane, now. No, not Leonard, _the Director_. Fuck, the only things that piece of shit shared with Leonard were his name and appearance, like some sort of demon possessing him. She felt anger burning through her whole body, but then suddenly it all went away, it shrank into a puddle of nothing. That wasn't him. _Leonard was dead_...And while she still felt a spark of love and a urge to save him, this time she was going to let him go. Only a few hours earlier, she would have blamed the whole situation on Tex for existing and haunting him, but if he was okay with torturing a person, no matter if it was himself, it was clearly too late for him. She had attempted to save him for almost two decades, and at that point she only got the confirmation of what she had always known, he didn't want to be saved. He wanted to die and he was going to destroy himself until he dropped dead, no matter how much she helped him or loved him. Had she been human, maybe she would have succeeded in nursing him back into health, and that was something she regretted but she never had control over that, so it was time to give up on him, before his actions hurt Carolina and Tex.  
Suddenly she remembered the first time she met Tex on the ship, when Price took her away and said they had 'great plans' for her. _That_ was what he was referring to, they really plotted that madness as soon as Tex showed up. She shook her head and decided to leave the room, and Price left shortly after as soon as dinner break was over – of course they would skip dinner, their priorities were just _that_ skewed! - to start his three evening sessions. It was time to strategize, for the well-being of everyone involved.  
  
After Price quickly stopped by his room to fetch some material, Henrietta followed him hid under the bed to control his movements. He had left some documents in there, just what she needed. There were detailed descriptions of the torture that they performed on poor Alpha, a list of hypotheses and ideas on how to 'improve' the project with this new discovery. Needless to say it was absolutely terrifying; whatever the fuck was wrong with Price, it was late to fix that too. Which was a shame, because hadn't he been the devil incarnate he could have easily helped what was left of Leonard. Then again, he probably thrived seeing him spiral into madness, especially since it encouraged his beloved _scientific practices._ As if that wasn't enough, there were several screens on his desk through which he could access cameras to spy everyone everywhere around the facility. Not surprising of him, but luckily he was too busy to use them as much as he wanted to. From what Henrietta could see there, he was starting a session with Agent Kentucky, no one she was interested in, so she could use that hour to work on her plan.

Good thing she was really good at multitasking and could do screen all the posts, calls, messages and interactions through the intranet while also checking the cameras. She focused as much as she could, worked harder than ever, until she finally found them. She found a few clues to finally find the traitor that Price was looking for: it was Connecticut, she regularly exchanged information with the 'Insurrection'. That was good news for Henrietta, because not only Connie was a friend of Tex, she also gave importance to doing the right thing, no matter if it was against the project, so she was the right person to talk to. Henrietta gathered as much data as possible and compressed it into a single file. She hurried up to personally put it in Connecticut's dog tag without being noticed, and made sure to check up on the other agents she saw along the path. Carolina, York and Wash were worried for Maine, but they were okay; the twins were taking care of each other despite everything; aside from being an asshole, Wyoming was fine, and Florida was...Well, Florida.  
When she came back into Price's room she checked the screen and noticed that the second counseling session was over as well and he was now ready to interview Tex. She activated the audio, this time she had to protect her properly so she had to acknowledge what they were going to do to her.  
  
“Where is the Director?”  
“ The Director is busy completing some work in order to have more material to examine tomorrow and cannot be present at today's session. However, you are allowed to have a...Private meeting with him tonight after this encounter.”  
“I...No, thanks, I was just wondering why he wasn't here since he's always been present so far.” she fidgeted nervously at that suggestive answer, then shrugged, trying to pretend not to be embarrassed “I don't mind him being busy.”  
“Very well, then. Is there an episode in particular that you would like to discuss?”  
“Ah yes, I'd love to talk about that thing I don't remember and also that other thing that I don't remember.” she scoffed “I don't remember _anything_ , what are we supposed to discuss?! Isn't this just a waste of time?”  
“Please do not dismiss these sessions as a waste of time, Agent Texas. Recovery is not an event, we could rather consider it an ongoing process and everyone's process takes a different amount of time, so do not feel pressured into rushing it. Every session is part of a very important work towards your well-being.”  
“Right.”  
“ Are you having new feelings about the incident during your first mission?”  
“Yeah. I was shocked at first, but you know what? I don't really care anymore . I'm a soldier, why would I make my own shitty kid when my job is to make this place safe for everyone else's shitty kids anyway ?!”  
“And you are being very successful on the job.”  
“Exactly.”  
“I understand that you are very driven and independent, sometimes to the point of being...Misunderstood by those who have a different...Outlook on life. Having always known what you wanted and what was best for you, you have hardly ever let their words get to you.”  
“Uh-uhh...? And? ”  
“ However, their same opinions coming from a loved one are bound to have a different impact, especially regarding a...Touchy subject. Is your partner aware of the situation? ”  
Tex lowered her head and sighed. Henrietta felt the instinct to run into the office and take her away, but she had to stay still and watch. Whatever Tex was, what was she supposed to become? What did they want to shape her into? The Director and the Counselor had two different ideas: one wanted to recreate the real Allison, the other wanted to explore Tex as what she already was and eventually change what wasn't convenient. Recreating Allison wouldn't have been convenient, considering that she was the only thing the Director wanted, if she was back then the future of the project would have been unclear, so no happy family. Not that Allison would have approved any of that, she would have punched his stupid face to death if he tried to say anything about that.  
“Who, Leonard? I'll punch his stupid face to death if he tries to say anything about that.”

  
“Please answer the question, Agent T--”  
“No.” she cut him off abruptly “He doesn't know. I would tell him but I don't know where he is or how to find him, so I guess I'll just wait 'til the war is over.”  
“Do you think it would make him more comfortable?”  
“Yeah, I mean, why not?”  
“From what I understood during our sessions, he seems to be the one who is more...Family oriented. He could see this decision as giving him false hope.”  
“Well, he is also a ball of anxiety, always worried that I won't come back. Guess what? I didn't train to get killed, I won't die in this war.”  
Price's dead expression twitched for half a second into a smug one that said something like ' _Oh, honey, if you only knew_ ', but he played it off as he turned to fetch his material to take notes about her response.  
“What...Why are you taking notes?”  
“Don't worry about that, go ahead.”  
“Well, there's not really much left to say. He thinks I'm gonna die, anyway, so when I come back it'll be more than enough even if I can't have children. Also, I have yet to propose, so we will think about the marriage first and if he wants a child so bad we can always adopt, it's the same thing.”  
“You are really confident about this response. I assume you have new memories of Leonard Church that you can use to back up your statement, is that correct?”  
“I...” she stopped to think it over for a second and then groaned “Ugh, no. I only remember what he looks like and that he is an asshole nerd, but he loves me more than anything. He is the only dumbass in the whole world that would say 'I'd die for you' and _mean_ it. He will still marry me, I know this.”  
“Do you remember your maiden name?”  
“No...But it doesn't matter, I will be Allison Church soon enough.”  
“Would you consider yourself in love with Leonard Church?”  
“As far as I remember, yes.”  
“What would happen if you met him and your feelings were not what you currently expect them to be?”  
“You doubt that I actually like him, is this what you're saying?”  
“On the contrary, Agent Texas. The reason why we are discussing this person is because most of your memories revolve around him, memories that are fundamental to your own understanding of yourself, hence why we can safely agree that he is very important to you. It is exactly for this reason that you should talk about your _real_ feelings about the incident, for the good of...Your relationship.”  
“Okay, you wanna go there? Great, then, I can't have children, I can't make my boyfriend happy, and if he isn't happy then I won't be happy either, whoop-dee-fucking do, and now I'm pissed because I failed him, can I go now?”  
“So you would say that your main goal is to make him happy. That's...Rather out of character of you, Agent Texas.”  
“Of course it sounds bad if you say it like _that_! I have my own goals too, like winning the war, for example, and if you let me out of this office I can work on it right now.”  
As Tex got up and tried to walk away, she was interrupted by _that_ question.  
“Do you feel incomplete, Agent Texas?”  
She gasped in outrage, her blank visor couldn't convey how shocked she was. Henrietta couldn't help but agree with her reaction to that sexist remark and felt like going through the screen and pecking that asshole's eyes out, but she couldn't. Also, Price didn't seem to be the sexist type, he thought of everyone as a weaker mind regardless of gender, so he was probably going somewhere else with that.  
“Please don't. You are not any less of a woman than you were before your injury.” he reassured her as _he fucking smiled at her, thinking he was clever and shit – well, it was clever, but also the most fucking evil backhanded compliment he could pay her_. _Especially since he was the one who brought up her sterility to begin with._ _Fucking congratulations, Price, I wish I had human hands so that I could clap, preferably with your face in between, you piece of shit_!  
...Or was it a good thing? After all, he was encouraging Tex to form her own identity and detach from her duties as Alpha's girlfriend. Mostly in order to prevent her from finding and rescuing him from torture, but it could still be positive for her.  
“So, this is the topic of the week? Girl stuff'?”  
“Speaking of...'Girl stuff',”  
“Oh, God, what now?”  
“Can we discuss the incident that happened on girls' night?”  
“Hm...I thought about it in the last couple of weeks and I think I actually remember something new.”  
“Good.”  
“I was leaving the training session and even though I never go there, that night I felt like walking into the locker room, and Connie was there. We made small talk and then Henrietta showed up. She told her something about anime, slippers and Wash, I think? My English to chicken is rusty, so I'm not sure about that part.”  
“Don't worry about that. Did Miss Peckerman attempt to say something to you specifically?”  
“No, not really, but when I saw her I thought of going upstairs to get my armour off, so I went and I met the Director. And then...I don't know, I must have blacked out for a second. Next thing I remember, I was in his room, looking in the mirror, checking if I was okay. I can't really explain it, generally one already knows if they're okay or not, but I felt the need to ask my body for confirmation.”  
“Did you notice something in particular when looking in the mirror?”  
“I lifted my dress all the way up and I saw that even if time had passed since I went on the mission the bullet wound on my lap was fresh. Three wounds, actually. And there was one on my shoulder too, now that I think about it.”  
“...”  
  
_“_ _Cownselauh...Ah don't wanna do thies.”  
“I assure you everything is going to be fine, Director.”  
“Nawt when Ah'm tha wone doin' tha shootin'.”  
Price glanced from him to Tex's host body, who was awake and __bound and gagged_ _to what looked like_ _a_ _St. Andrew's cross, which Henrietta was afraid to ask where did it come from.  
“Please understand that Agent Texas is going to have questions about her own body and we have make sure to set our story straight.”  
“But whawt yif Ah myess?”  
Price shrugged without a hint of concern “It wouldn't be a problem. We have all night, sir.”  
“Ah dyieed nawt myeen et lahk thaet. Ah mehnt, whawt yif Ah hyeet heuh sumwheah aeuhlse and heurt heuh?”  
“...”  
“Lahk, whawt yif Ah kyull heuh?”  
“Don't worry, we have plenty of them in the basement.”  
“_ _Awlraht...Ah'm gawnna...Tayke uh dyieep braeth and shoot.”  
He reluctantly fired his gun and the bullet hit the shoulder of the host body, who was now whimpering in pain.  
“Good, now try aiming lower.”  
He fired another shot that didn't go anywhere near the cross. Same for the next one, and the one after that.  
“Ugh...”  
“I'm going to have to ask you to focus, sir. I understand that this must be hard for you, but purposely missing the target will only be counterproductive and damage our equipment.”  
“Shuht uhp, Ah'm nawt myessin' awn peuhpose!” he barked back as he fired another shot, missing again.  
“..._ _Do you need new prescription glasses?”  
“AWLRAHT, SMAHRTAESS, YOU DOO ET.”  
“Of course.”  
“Hey, uhh...” the Director nervously demanded his attention after handing him the gun “Byiee djaentuhl.”  
“Sure!” he replied way too happily as he nonchalantly shot the host body in the lap “Done.”  
A moment of silence followed. Well, silence apart from that poor woman's muffled screaming but that wasn't so important, now, was it? To the Director, it clearly was. The poor man couldn't help but stare in shock and start to shake, without the strength to emit any sound, __traumatized by the image of that woman that looked so much like Allison losing a copious amount of blood.  
"Oh, I know what is happening to you, sir." Price confidently nodded as if that insanity wasn't a big deal "You're about to have a panic attack."  
"..."  
"Alright, allow me to guide you to practice this grounding technique: it's now important for you to look around. Now, find five things you can see, four things you can touch--"  
The Director interrupted him with a loud, amazing bitchslap, although it lacked the sentiment that he would've put had it been in different circumstances.  
"Fahnd wone."_ _  
"Hm. I see you are already doing better."  
“..._ _Am Ah?! Whawt tha HELL juhst haeppeuhned?”_ _  
“I shot the host body.” Price fired another equally fast, equally nonchalant shot,_ _making the poor woman scream in agony_ _“Like this!” he explained as he fired another and then gave him the gun back.  
“Ah...Ah haev no wo_ _uh_ _rds, Cownselauh.” he cringed at the blood that was spilling all over the floor “Shood Ah cawll tha clye_ _h_ _nyin' squawd o_ _h_ _r dyieed ya shoot_ _tha_ _em aes waell?!”  
“Um...”  
“...”  
“I think __I should go fetch some cleaning products_ _, just in case.”  
“Justin Case ready for duty, sir!” happily announced Justin Case practically arriving out of nowhere as soon as he heard his name, startling the Director who unintentionally shot him in the head. A moment of silence followed.  
“...”  
“...”  
“Nice shot.”  
“Whah, thank you, __yieet's awlwayes nahce tuh ryecieev paws_ _y_ _et_ _e_ _ev fyeedbaek!”_

  
“...I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for that in our files, agent.”  
“Anyway, after I looked at my reflection for a little, the Director said I looked fine, and I thanked him. Then I said he looked fine, and he thanked me, and you know...One compliment after another...”  
“...Starts a... _Conversation_.” he completed with a euphemism.  
“Yeah, a conversation.”  
“Indeed.”  
“It was uh...A pretty long conversation.”  
“Am I correct in assuming it was a deep, private conversation?”  
“Yeah.” she laughed “I guess we can say so.”  
“Did you feel...Satisfied with that conversation?”  
“More than I like to admit...I _loved_ that conversation, and he seemed to like it too, but it almost felt like I disappointed him.”  
“May I ask why or how?”  
“Well...Let's say that he was very invested in it and had a lot to talk about, I don't know why but I guess it's because we already had a very nice conversation before – and I barely remember that one, I just remember liking it in a different way...But in this one conversation I wasn't really interested in the subject, I guess I just...Really like the way he talks. And I wanted to hear word after word after word...But without really listening.”  
“Oh...”  
“ _Yeah_.”  
“I understand.”  
“You do?”  
“Of course. It's not uncommon to... _Engage in a conversation_ about an uninteresting subject when we think that the other person has a really appealing...Voice.”  
“Ah yeah, the voice. You're right, it's...Uhh, definitely a factor to, uhm, take into account.”  
“I see we're speaking the same language.” he smirked “Always take the voice into account. The tones say a lot about a person.”  
“Right. His tones are borderline rude, but at the same time they really...Complement his voice, and he already has a nice voice.”  
“Mhm, does he?”  
“...I don't want to talk about this anymore.”

  
Many thoughts were racing through Henrietta's head as she listened to what they were saying, but mostly they were going 'WHAT THE FUCK' on loop. She was surprised that Tex still didn't recognize the link between Alpha and the Director despite them being discussed in the same...Oh, great, now she needed another word for 'conversation'. Tex clearly saw the two as different people without any similarities except appearance. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, it was impossible to tell. Henrietta could elaborate theories about who would find which option convenient, but she didn't know what _she_ wanted from that situation. For some reason, she was now feeling regretful about transferring reserved information into Connecticut's dog tag. She didn't change her mind about the methods being used, but she had to recognize that everything she had just done was dictated by anger and impulse. Project Freelancer was corrupt, but was Charon Industries any better? She couldn't know that. It could as well have been worse, although it hardly seemed possible in that moment. Either way, she did her duty, so the only thing left to do was to keep watching over Tex, although that counseling session was physically painful to witness at that point.  
  
“Let's move back to the original subject.”  
“Yeah, girls' night. It was right after I was upstairs, I decided to go for a walk and the corridors were empty. There were a couple of idiots, I think it was Hawaii and California, and they said something like 'It's girls' night, run for your lives!', so I flipped them off because they were idiots and followed the sign out of spite. I figured it couldn't do any harm to know new people since I am the rookie, so I entered the room and there they were.”  
“The agents that were listed the other time as witnesses of the incident were Colorado, Virginia and West Virginia.”  
“Yeah, I think so, I don't know them very well. I remember the names of another group that was there, though, they were playing some dumb board game and they wrote their names for the scoreboard: Oklahoma, Oregon, New Mexico and Nevada. New Mexico said something about a freelancer monopoly based on this ship, or whatever. What a stupid idea.”  
“Actually, there _is_ a freelancer monopoly based on the Mother Of Invention, it was made by Agent Florida along with the posters, gadgets and other items. He is very...Zealous about this new duty.”  
“Yeah, that explains his own 'Team Daddy' merchandise...”  
“Indeed. When we spoke about that night during last session, you said the following agents were not present at the event: Carolina, Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and South Dakota. Is that statement still correct?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Alright. Then let's discuss in detail the group you interacted with.”  
  
_“_ _Uh, hey. Hey there.”  
Tex awkwardly waved as she entered __the room where more than a dozen female agents were relaxing. Some were playing games, others were eating snacks, others were gossiping_ _while getting high_ _, the typical_ _sleepover, except with a few more dents in the walls when they felt like practicing new fighting styles.  
“Oh, hi_ _iiiii_ _!” one of the girls happily ran to her to welcome her “I've never seen you before,_ _I'm sure would have remembered otherwise_ _. I'm Agent Delaware, you can call me Della._ _It's SO n_ _ice to meet you!”  
“Nice to meet you.” she replied reluctantly “I'm new here, I'm Agent Texas.”  
“Woah.” Delaware gasped in awe and got uncomfortably close to stare at her “You're the one who beat the shit out of York, Maine and Wyoming at the same time in that training session? That Texas?”  
“_ _Not my defining quality, but yeah.”  
“AWESOME!” she pulled Tex further into the room by grabbing her arm, much to her annoyance “Come sit here with me, I'll introduce you to the rest of the girls!”  
“Heh...Okay.”  
“'sup, __sluts_ _, say hi to my new gal pal, Tex!”  
“_ _Hi, Tex.” greeted all the girls, some more enthusiastically than others.  
“Uhh, I didn't say you could call me Tex, __just call me Texas_ _.” she awkwardly muttered to Delaware, who ignored her_ _request_ _and laughed.  
“Oh, Tex, you're so sexy! Ahem, __silly,_ _I mean silly!_ _Yup, that's right._ _Silly. Heh.”  
“...”  
“Real smooth, dipshit!” yelled __one of the other agents in the room.  
“Hey! At least my freelancer name isn't a fucking joke, miss Hannah 'Agent' Montana!”  
“Well, at least I didn't have a crush on Washington because I mistook him for a lesbian!”  
“SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME IN FRONT OF MY NEW BEST FRIEND!”  
Tex gulped, immediately regretting her decision to socialize. She felt embarrassment and an even sharper pain to the shoulder after Delaware decided to pull her. She didn't pay much attention __to_ _those who were staring at her, they were probably just surprised by what she looked like, since apparently she was famous among them even without ever meeting them before. Sometimes she was surprised by the way she looked to_ _o_ _,_ _she was so disconnected from her own appearance that she genuinely seemed to forget about it. As she did about plenty other things...  
“Tex? Tex, are you okay?”  
“Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, I just...Spaced out a little.”  
“Maybe you're a bit dizzy. Did you have dinner? We can make dinner and cuddle, ahem, I mean, I've never seen you in the mess hall. Why do you never come there?”  
“I, ah...” she tried to make up an excuse for that since she didn't have an explanation “I have a different schedule. Gotta catch up on a couple of things, since I'm new.”  
“Hm...Yeah, that makes sense. You joined almost a year after the rest of us. Why did it take so long before you came here?”  
“I don't know, traffic?” she answered sarcastically out of irritation, at which Delaware laughed as if it was the funniest thing ever.  
“By the way, now you know Hannah Montana. There's the rest of her __real lame,_ _real-name based squad: Agents Mary-land, Louise-iana and In-_ _D_ _iana.”  
“'Sup.” the three of them greeted her rather unenthusiastically. __She responded with a nod._ _  
“_ _And here's the rest of my squad!” Delaware gestured to a group of four girls, who introduced themselves one after the other.  
“Hi! I'm Pennsylvania, you can call me Penny.”  
“I'm Missouri, you can call me Suri.”  
“I'm Minnesota, you can call me Minnie.”  
“And I'm Massachussets, you can call me--”  
“Massachussets?” echoed Tex without letting her finish the sentence “What's your cheesy short nickname, Chussy or something...?”  
“_ _Hey, rookie.” clearly Massachussets didn't take that question well “What the FUCK did you just call me?!”  
“I don't know, I just got here and everyone's behaving like they're twelve.”  
“Oh, okay, I get it, you wanna start a fucking fight.”  
“What?”  
“You think you're better than me?!”  
“No – I mean, yeah, but what does that have anything to do with this?”  
“Oh yeah?! I'll show you! COME HERE, YOU STUPID BITCH!”_

 

“...So I beat up Massachussets, and after that I decided to go back to my room, but suddenly I didn't feel very well. She must have stuck something in the back of my neck while we were fighting, because I felt a sharp pain there and then a headache so strong I fell on my knees and started throwing up on the floor.”  
  
_“Hey, are you okay?” Parts saw Tex on the floor and helped her get up.  
“I'm fine, I just need a moment.”  
“Well, I can always call someone to get you to the medical wing, just in case.”  
“_ _Thank you, but laying down in my room will be enough.”  
“I will take you to your room, then, the number one rule of Private Parts is to always help a lady feel better!”  
And it was right in that moment that Tex, misunderstanding his intentions, punched Private Parts. In the private parts. Justin Case ran in immediately after.  
“Justin Case ready for duty, ma'am! Did someone get hurt?”  
“Yeah. Him.”  
“Cool!”  
“Wait. Weren't you the guy they found dead with a bullet between his eyes a couple of days ago?”  
“Well, I couldn't let that stop me, could I?” he nodded solemnly “I know I'm needed.”_

 

“And right after that, I tried to fix my hair but I noticed it was covered in blood, and I actually felt the blood running down my back. I touched the back of my head and felt something but then...I don't remember anything else. I must have passed out. Is this enough?”  
“Yes. Thank you for your cooperation.”  
“If anything, now that I beat up that chick and reached the top of the leaderboard they'll think twice before annoying me.”  
“Indeed.”  
“Wait. I have a question.”  
“Go ahead.”  
“I'm the one who secured the package on the mission to get the Sarcophagus, but...Carolina was there too. I'm on top of the leaderboard because I arrived there first, right? Not because of the...Conversations that we mentioned before...Right?”  
“Do you _feel_ as though it was due to the conversations that we mentioned before?”  
“No, actually. Just wanted to make sure.”  
“Very well. Thank you for this very...Enlightening interview. Goodnight, Agent Texas, you are dismissed.”

  
After Tex left, Price waited a couple of minutes and then glanced to his tablet, then proceeded to start typing something. After a few seconds, Henrietta received a message from him:  
“ **Did you enjoy my performance?** ”  
“ **HOW THE FUCK DID YOU KNOW THAT I WAS WATCHING?** ”  
“ **Oh, you know.** ”  
Henrietta gulped in panic, wondering if he somehow knew about the information she passed to Connecticut. She didn't have the time to respond that he double texted.  
“ **I just had a feeling; but d** **on't worry, I don't mind when someone is watching.** ”  
“ **?????** ”  
“ **Ho** **wever, I have to admit that** **I expected you to be with the Director right now.** ”  
“ **You can have him, I don't care anymore. He probably prefers your toxic ass as a friend rather than me.** ”  
“ **To be fair, I did a good job taking care of him during my time working here. I'm afraid my supposedly toxic behaviour isn't the reason why you have been unable to properly** **help** **in the last sixteen years** **.** ”  
“ **Just shut the fuck up and come here, already, to pretend that you're an actual human being that needs sleep or some** **shit like that** .”  
“ **You truly are knowledgeable about humans, for a hen.** ”  
“ **Well** **, you truly are knowledgeable about humans too, for a snake.** ”  
“ **Touché.** ”  
“ **Speaking of how you're so much better than me at taking care of the Director, how come did you leave that crazy son of a bitch alone with a gun?** ”  
“ **Mothering him didn't seem like the suitable approach.** **Besides, while you may disagree on the moral aspect, the progress we made is undeniable and he is getting closer everyday to reaching his objectives and doing what is best for everyone, including his family. I understand that you may not be familiar with the concept, but I assure you that with the right choice of words, these reminders are enough to hold him back from attempting suicide.** ”  
“ **Yeah? Well, good for you. Any other brilliant idea?** ”  
“ **Several, actually. We can discuss them tomorrow, if you're available.** ”  
“ **Looking forward to that, bitch.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the thing about Private Parts being right in his suspicions and being dismissed as delusional by others is a salty jab at some doctors I know. Yes, I am physically incapable of not throwing shade. Yolo.


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Price reveals to Henrietta and the Director that his mysterious plan is meant to find out who is the traitor on the ship. That being said, Freelancer Spirit Week sounds like the dumbest idea ever. (Of all time.) And yes, when you arrive to THAT part, it's a reference to The Dog of Wisdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming back after that EMBARRASSINGLY LONG chapter twelve, this one actually is short and sweet like the first ones. It's a good place to put a breather chapter, if I say so myself, because oh boy is hell going to break loose in the following ones!  
> \---  
> Warning: Implied slutshaming

Henrietta was rightfully alarmed knowing that Price had a plan of some sort, and the fact that she had no idea of what said plan could be made her head buzz with numberless paranoid thoughts. The man was many bad things, but certainly wasn't stupid, and he was going to find out _her_ plan, sooner or later. Henrietta felt regret all of a sudden, mostly out of fear, and considered fetching Connecticut's dog tag to remove all the data. Whatever Price was going to do, it was in order to serve the project and therefore the Director, who despite everything still meant well. The torture that Alpha was being put through was also her fault, after all. It was a monstruosity, of course, but it wasn't as sudden as it looked. Too many years spent failing him...What if she had been attempting to save him in the wrong way all those years?  
The noise of the door being opened distracted her from her thoughts. Price entered his room with a sinister glint in his eyes, as opposed to his usual blank stare, and Henrietta couldn't tell whether that made him more human or simply more unsettling. Either way, it wasn't a good sign.  
“...Bawk?”  
“Not now, sweetie, I said tomorrow.”  
_Sweetie?!_ Definitely not a good sign. Henrietta clucked uncomfortably and watched him neatly spread all his material on his desk, then he sat down and started scribbling frantically, filling pages and pages in the matter of seconds, never glancing away, almost looking like he was in another dimension. After an hour, Henrietta was starting to get worried, but he kept going. She tried to look and discover what he was working on but she couldn't understand a thing. At last she decided to give up, she was going to find out soon enough, anyway, so she peacefully fell asleep.  
  
  
She was woken up by Reveille blasting across the spaceship. Surprisingly, Leonard – _no, the Director_ – wasn't becoming lethargic even if his depression had clearly worsened. On the contrary, he seemed to keep himself as busy as possible, and even if he often disappeared without telling anyone where he was going he would come back to work very hard and put all his focus into the project. He seemed determined to create many fragments and he wasn't going to give up anytime soon, he knew exactly what he was doing and that the agents' armours would have become much more powerful with new enhancements accessible on the battlefield. That part of him seemed almost optimistic regarding the matter, and it was hard to decide whether it was a good thing or not. Stealing Charon's property surely wasn't worth all that fuss, but if the Sarcophagus alone could bring such betterments to the equipment of Project Freelancer, maybe it was just one of the first steps to actually fighting and winning the Great War. Still, those methods remained questionable, no matter how much Henrietta wanted to justify them. Noble goals were only worth torture only as long as they were clear and actually being pursued, if ever.  
  
While she would have expected it from Price, at that point, the Director seemed to feel some sort of twisted pleasure while torturing that poor clone and apparently spent the rest of the previous day listening carefully to every hurtful word said during the simulation, over and over even after they were done for the day...For reviewing purposes, he said, but clearly that wasn't the reason. When confronted about it, he would get jumpy and fidgety, sometimes scratching his arms in dismay. He gasped when he saw the others walk up to him in the control room, more specifically he gasped at Price who, while he had always looked somewhat unreal, looked he wasn't okay.  
“Uhhh...Cownselauh?”  
“Yes, sir?”  
“You, uhh, you louhk uh lyeuttle...Dyieffuhrent.”  
“In what way different?”  
“Nevuhmahnd, Ah myeen...Ah gas yietsa gud wone fo' ya...Yoren yo' euhly fieftehs too, raht?”  
“I'm forty.”  
“Ah.”  
“...”  
“Yuh louhk lahk shiet, thaen. Hah tha haell deed yo haeh graye ovahnaht?”  
“Oh, you know, I have been... _Thinking_...”  
“Uhbaht whawt, eggsactley?”  
“About what could be our best move against the traitor.”  
“You fahnd tha trayedah?!”  
“Not yet... _But I know how to find out_.” he handed him a series of papers, at which he seemed perplexed at first, but then a hint of a smirk appeared on his face as he continued reading.  
“Well...Wawna kno mah tayke awn thies?”  
“Yes, sir. Feedback is important.”  
“Thies maht bie tha duhmbaest shiet Ah've evah rehd. Yieet's uh cumplyeet wayste awf aenuhgyeh and tahm and reesowces and awlso awf syeenahpseuhs awn yo' paht.”  
Henrietta cackled in delight hearing those words.  
“ _Laet's doo thies yimmeediuhtley_.”  
“BAWK?!”  
“Yoo've heuhd myie, Haennyie. Yin faect, Ah thank yuh shoould bee tha wone doin' thee hawnohs.”  
“Baaaawwk?!”  
“Ah'm shore ahwah aygeuhnts won't mahnd haevin' tuh do sum fuhn actyieviteh...We shall enfoahm 'em duryien braekfuhst brayk.”  
  
_Cock-a-doodle-doo!_  
“What the hell was that?!” yelled South Dakota through a moutful of food, casually spitting half of it on the table.  
“It's Henrietta. Strange, though: she is a hen, not a rooster, why did she emit that sound?” calmly replied North.  
“ _That_ 's your first question?!”  
A big explosion in the distance followed, shaking the whole spaceship. A microphone screech through the intercom was heard immediately after, then some low mumbling on the other side.  
“Shiet. Wrawng buhdun. Can't see uh dayum thang eevuhn wyeth mah glaesseuhs, yin tha moanyen'.”  
“We might want to send a squad to clean that up before the announcement.”  
“Whah, whawt dyieed wie blow ahp thies tahm?”  
“Does it matter?”  
“Eh, prawbuhbley nawt. Laet's git thies ovah wyeth.”  
_Din don!_  
“Notice: missions will be suspended for the rest of the week.”  
The agents were already going crazy hearing FILSS's announcement, but she wasn't quite done yet.  
“All codenamed agents must be present onboard. Freelancer troops who are currently stationed outside the Mother Of Invention will be contacted by command and notified. No additional soldiers will be sent to assist them in ongoing missions. All agents are required to move to the hall for new directives.”  
The chatter grew louder as everyone kept wondering what was the reason of the announcement, it sure did sound important. The only one who wasn't talkative, strangely, was Carolina, the first to get up and exit the mess hall, the others followed after. She met Tex in the corridor while walking to destination.  
“First to comply, huh?”  
“I could say the same to you.” replied Tex almost distractedly “Do you know why they stopped the missions?”  
“ _Funny that you're asking me_. Aren't you the special one? I bet that if there's information the Director wants to share with the public, he'll make sure to give it to you first.”  
“What makes you even _think_ that? I only get a different treatment because I'm new, if you believe I'm his favourite just because I got your annoying ass off the top of the leaderboard, then you're out of your mind.”  
“Oh, you're so full of--”  
“Baaawk?”  
  
Henrietta interrupted the two in order to get their attention, staring at the entrance door of the hall to make sure everyone else was coming in as well. Once she saw all the agents, codenamed and otherwise, in the room, she started her important speech:  
“Hawk bawk bawk, haw baw-gawk bawk bah-gawk: Bawk. BAWK! BAH-BAWK BAWK! Bah-bawk _bawk_ bawk. Bah-gawk bawk bah-bawk. Bawk. Bawk, bawk.”  
“Hwraaah!” Agent Maine lifted a hand, most likely asking permission to speak, although due to his injury whatever came out of his mouth didn't sound like words “Hrwaawh!”  
“Hawk. Ha-bawk bawk bawk-bah. Bawk baw-bawk baw-bah. Bawk! Bawk bawk BAWK bawk-bah?”  
“HAWWRA RAWR. HAAAAWW!” he explained “HAAH HAWRRA RAWR, HAWW.”  
“Hawk. Hah-bawk gawk baw-gawk?”  
“Hawwra wrow rawr: hawwra bawrbawr, hurr rawwra rawr, haawrrr!”  
“Hawk-bawk bawk _gawk_ bawk!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“What Miss Peckerman is trying to say--” Price entered the room as well along with the Director, bringing an unusual feeling of relief with his explaination “is that your skills will be employed, just for this week, in a different...Activity, rather than our usual missions.”  
“Theese uhctyeveetehs wyeuhll uhllah y'awll tuh reestoah yo' aenuhgyeh whahl we fyeenesh uhlahboraytin' dayda. Ah've gaethauhd y'awl heah tuh dyiescuhs thies, buht feuhst wee shahl haev uh mawmeuhnt awv sahleuhnce fo' aygeuhnt Jwoahjah.” the Director closed his eyes and nodded solemnly “...Aenyewaye, Ah was sayin'--”  
  
  
“Wait, what happened to Georgia?” asked Washington, looking around and feeling like he had been out of the loop, or something like that, which was probably true.  
“DI'N'T YO' MAMA TEECH YA MAEHNNEUHS, AYGEUHNT WASHIENTUHN?! YO SHOODA LEUHNT BAH NAH THAET YUH NEED TUH AESK FO' PEUHMYESSHUN TUH SPEAK.”  
“I-I'm sorry, sir...Permission to speak?”  
“PEUHMYESSHUN DENAHD.”  
Washington sighed, and the Director continued his speech.  
“Aygeuhnts, you haev byeen seuhvin' fo' qwaht uh lawng tahm and due tuh tha ceuhcumstaenceuhs wyee've nevah byeen ayble tuh celuhbrayte ahwa prawgraes, so laet thies bee thee okayeshun tuh do et. Ah nah deeclaer tha freelaenceauh spyieeret weeuhk owpuhn! You caen clahp, nahw.”  
A moment of silence followed. Henrietta started pecking at nothing to hide the embarrassment.  
Price slowly fluttered his eyes as he stared at the crowd with a faint smile.  
“Do you have any questions?” he saw Washington lift his hand and continued his sentence “...Regarding this celebration?”  
Washington put his hand back down, Carolina raised hers instead.  
“I have a question, sir.”  
“Go ahead.”  
“Will this affect our regular class and training schedule?”  
“ _Will this affect our regular class and training schedule?_ ” echoed South Dakota in a mocking voice while muttering to herself “Ugh...I hate teachers' pets...”  
Unfortunately for her, that comment came out louder than she expected and Carolina gasped in offence. Price seemed _delighted to say the least_ by that moment.  
“Oh. Agent South Dakota...Would you, perchance, like to answer Agent Carolina's question?”  
“I...Huh?!”  
“The peculiar tone you used in response to Agent Carolina's question suggested that you found it rather...Superfluous, which would tendentially lead one to the assumption that you do, in fact, know the answer. Would that assumption be correct, Agent South?”  
South Dakota didn't respond. She crossed her arms and inhaled, trying to glance away despite everyone looking at her.  
“Participation is always welcome.” he reminded with a condescension so blatant that Henrietta found it hilarious, for once that it wasn't directed at her “Nevertheless, I would like to continue my explaination in order to provide more details regarding the issues that you...Pointed out. Is that alright?”  
“Ugh...Yes, sir.”  
“Mh? May you repeat? I didn't quite catch that.”  
“YES, SIR.” she repeated even more angrily, practically hissing it through her teeth.  
  
  
“ _Very well, then_.” he gave her the fakest smile ever, then proceeded to switch his focus back to Carolina “To answer your question, Agent Carolina, the set schedule will be the same as the regular training day, with the only difference that from tomorrow until the end of the week your morning training will start half an hour later. In that half hour, you're going to prepare the material you find more...Suitable for the theme of the day. This, of course, if you decide to attend training and classes, as it will not be mandatory for this week. Do you have any more questions?”  
Carolina stayed silent for a second, for some reason she wasn't fully convinced. She decided to ask another question but as soon as she tried to speak, the focus was shifted to another.  
“Yes, Agent Texas?”  
“Wouldn't it be better if we just...Didn't do this celebration?”  
“Allow me to remind you something, Agent Texas: the last few months have been particularly...Stressful, due to the new adjustments. I see your point and I agree that being active is important; however, while our standards have become increasingly higher thanks to your excellent performance, we're only human, and as such we need to rest sometimes.”  
“Well, yeah, but--”  
“As you may have noticed, other agents have a different schedule, and while you did catch up with the program you also spent most of your time in this facility and had your rest when others have been sent on a considerably higher amount of missions. Shore leave has been treated like a luxury and hardly ever granted - rightfully so, given the circumstances under which we had you work harder than usual, yet it still is an important part of your experience as soldiers.”  
  
The wording this time wasn't convincing enough for Henrietta, but then again, she knew it was a strategy to find out who the traitor was. She didn't know the details, but she concluded that a spirit week was an objectively fun activity and that it was less harmful than any other mind game that could be pulled mid-mission...  
“For this reason, we figured that while we may not send you out for...Safety measures, we would like you to accept this week of rest and celebration as our way to show appreciation towards the service that you are providing.” he continued with his usual fake niceness, then the sinister glint came back into his empty eyes “After all, the Director and I, along with our team of mechanics and engineers, have been working on the production of new tools and weapons for you to use...I, for one, would really appreciate if you decided to partake, especially since you have been so... _Grateful_ to the Director...And to the project as a whole.”  
_Grateful_ was a word that clearly hinted something else, and even if Tex's face was just a blank visor, Henrietta could feel her discomfort. Thank God nobody seemed to catch that not so subtle implication, even if the most malicious ones might have had it in mind for a second, it wouldn't have been convenient coming from him. Besides, the only one believing that the system was rigged was Connecticut, anyway.

  
_Fuck_. Connecticut! Was she going to share that information with the wrong people? Was she going to drag other agents along with her? Just because her intentions were good, the outcome wasn't going to be as good. There was a possibility, sure, but it was too risky. Suddenly, Henrietta felt the urge to take back her dog tag again. After all, the data was put inside just that evening, and Connecticut was very tired after the training, so she _might_ not have seen it yet. It was a good moment for Henrietta to go and do what had to be done. She took advantage of the situation and used her being small and out of focus to leave the room.  
The dog tag was in the locker, exactly where she left it the previous day. If Connecticut saw the data, surely she wouldn't leave it there so carelessly. Maybe erasing the data wasn't the answer, but the consequences could have been so dangerous that it was right to think it over once more, putting the anger and shock aside. Hiding the dog tag until a better idea came to mind seemed like the better solution. There was only one problem... _Where_?


	14. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this at 1am. If that isn't telling enough, just know that 2 thirds of it are Price making bonsai trees scary and the other third is kigurumi related weirdness.

There was something almost romantic about how after hours and hours of searching, of all the places on the ship, Henrietta had chosen the room that she shared with Agent Texas to hide all the data. She had her own nest, made with those silly looking curly straws that were available in the mess all – in particular she took Washington's because startling him every time was fun. The boy seemed to be freaked out by her even after all that time, and it wasn't that the time wasn't enough to get used to, the Project had been going for at least two years and a half before Tex showed up, and Tex had been around for a while, now. Washington really didn't have an excuse for that behaviour, _if I'm that hard to get used to then I'll make sure to give you a hard time_ , she thought, and goddammit, why was she so easily distracted? The dog tag was now hidden in plain sight.  
She wasn't too worried about it, Price didn't seem to be eager of touching her nest, and was so smug that he somehow refused to look for the traitor in the obvious places, namely in Connie's attitude...Boy was it going to be good to have him realize he was being outsmarted by a chicken!  
Speaking of the devil, there he was, as soon as Henrietta walked back into the corridor she saw him. He eyed her for half a second and proceeded to go in his room, not before 'accidentally' stepping on her, of course.  
“BAWK!!”  
“Oh. Sorry.” here came his usual irritating fake smile “I didn't see you there.”  
She pecked his leg in response, and instead of not responding to the provocation as always, he straight up kicked her, humming with delight as soon as he heard the pained squawk. Something wasn't right with him, even more than usual.  
  
“ **Who took a piss in your tea, SWEETIE?** ” she texted through her device.  
“I beg your pardon? I don't know what you're referring to.” he spoke back as he exited the room with the material he fetched for his next session.  
“ **You're more devoted to making everyone's life a nightmare more than usual, today.** ”  
He glanced down to his tablet to read her response, and allowed himself to show amusement “Thank you for noticing that.”  
“ **I'm not joking, asshole. You think you're so clever, treating Tex like a whore in front of everyone? You're not**.”  
“I'm afraid you might have read too much into my statement, I have not publicly humiliated Agent Texas and am not interested in doing so. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go back to my office. I have some soldiers to break.”  
“Bawk?!”  
“...In the most harmless way possible, of course.” he didn't even bother to sound convincing this time, and just in case he wasn't being annoying enough – which he was – he provoked her even more “ _With your permission, madam..._ ”  
That attitude obviously left her fuming with rage and it was hard to hold back from chasing him and attacking him from behind as he was leaving, but she couldn't let him win either.  
“ **Permission to fuck off granted**.”  
  
Seeing him take the stairs, she decided to go for the elevator. It was the most comfortable choice for her, anyway, whoever built the Mother Of Invention surely didn't take her size into account. While she did run fast, it wasn't worth it to waste that much energy to simply cross rooms, so whenever something made for an easier mean of transportation she was happy to use it. Pressing the button generally wasn't an issue, but that day was probably an off day in terms of physical strength and capabilities.  
Good thing the door opened for her. She was planning to go see what the Director was up to, but it was him who arrived on that same floor. He seemed to be muttering something but Henrietta didn't understand what he said, yet it was safe to say he was angry.  
“Cluck bawk?”  
“GET AHTA MAH WAYE!” he barked at her as he ran away into his room, closing the door behind him. Henrietta knew he wasn't going to be open for conversation but she couldn't leave him like that, so she pecked on his door.  
“...Hawk cluck bah-gawk?”  
“...”  
“Cluck-cluck?”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...Baaaaaaaaawk?”  
“JUHST LYEEV MEH UHLOWNE, FO' FUHCK'S SAYKE!”  
The noise of glass shattering followed shortly after. He was sobbing. It was hard to tell if it was because of something specific or simply a mix of everything. Surely what she told him that one day in the lab didn't help, but he was already acting upset by then. It was as if he was more upset than usual, but the enemy wasn't making anything harder for him. Any further disgrace was brought by himself...And the snake, obviously. God, the mere thought of the torture they did on poor Alpha was making her want to expose their crimes again! Such action had to be calculated and not taken lightly, though, which was exactly why she was there in the first place. The Alpha was him, after all, and if he wanted to both sacrifice himself and do research that was the best choice. She didn't approve, not at all, but she _understood_ why he would think that. Maybe because reverse engineering a dissociative identity disorder was something that sounded very much like something an evil psichiatrist would do, and the idea of blaming all of it on Price seemed actually more comforting. Not that the man she just saw was Leonard, the real Leonard was dead. If Alpha could be both the same and a different person, it certainly couldn't hurt her to think that Leonard and the Director were two different people that happened to share the same body.

  
As worrisome as his behaviour was, she couldn't do much from there, but she figured that there would be a hidden camera in his room as well. There was one, but apparently he had noticed it because there was tape on it. It was understandable that he took necessary measures to avoid being monitored against his will, but there was something bad about it...Some sort of heavy feeling that Henrietta couldn't describe. A horror movie kind of feel, where rooms begin to mirror the madness of whoever is trapped inside of them.  
She shook her head and decided to look what was going on in the other places scattered within the ship. Many soldiers were hanging out without really minding not respecting the schedule for once that they were allowed to avoid lessons and training, enjoying their well deserved rest. Most of them, despite everything, were glad to have the chance to partake to a cute initiative, and were following the theme of the day, which was animals. _Animals_. It certainly didn't feel pleasant coming from Price, probably that motherfucker was just finding a creative way to tell all of them that they were his lab rats without them realizing. Fucking asshole. Still, the agents being enthusiastic and relaxed was a refreshing sight, and seeing grown men and women going around in kigurumis was wholesome for some reason. The only exception so far seemed to be York, who kept his regular armour on with the only difference that he was wearing a horse mask instead of his helmet, because of course he would. Utah and Illinois respectively wore a penguin and whale kigurumi, Maine wore an adorably huge bear one; Wash of course wore a cat one. Everything seemed pretty much normal, maybe it was time to spy another location.

  
Apparently there was also another arena, bigger than the training room, that had been transformed into a large garden and seemed to contain a greenhouse. It looked cute for a garden in a cold spaceship lit with artificial lights, and it was a good idea both for supplies and for providing comfort to the agents. As for suspicious experiments, had she had the ability to lay eggs again she was ready to bet one that they were taking place, they just were not visible from that camera.  
There. She spoke too soon. There was another camera hidden in a smaller room inside that area, and it showed a series of animal cages. It was the ex storage room where she was locked years before when she came in with the delivery, apparently boxes weren't fun to torture so animals were a necessary upgrade. She could see a few scientists working in there too, and tried to watch, if only pushed by her survival instinct telling her to know the possible dangers she could encounter, but as soon as one of them picked up a syringe and walked to one of the cages, she realized she couldn't. Horrible flashbacks were already playing in her mind, she had to focus on something else or she would've lost her mind completely. To think that she was the lucky one, compared to all of them...Was she still the Director's favourite? Was he doing her a favour by pretending she was still his favourite in order to avoid her suffering the same fate as the others? Did he feel like he had to? She wasn't really that useful to the project anymore. Might as well go with the others, she thought.

  
Her attention was successfully captured by something else. Not really something pleasant. It was Price, after all, ready to give yet another annoying demonstration that he was awfully good at his job. To think that he had such a gift that he could use to save people and instead he deliberately decided to manipulate and torture his patients 'for science', made Henrietta want to personally go in there and physically attack him. _Motherfucker probably gets horny at all the harm he does_ , she thought with such a sincere disgust that somehow she hoped he could feel it from his office. Then again, he was looking for the traitor, so _for once_ he was doing something for everyone's good, at least in theory. In practice, he showed a fake smile as he welcomed a poor freelancer in.  
“Good afternoon, Agent Mississippi.”  
“Good afternoon, sir.”  
“Please take your seat.”  
Mississippi complied and started looking around, probably to avoid looking in those unsettling eyes, and shifted in his place as Price demanded his attention.  
“I see you're particularly fascinated by your surroundings, today.”  
“Heh...I guess. Everything's sillier when you're wearing an animal costume, isn't it?”  
“ _Indeed_.” the emphasis with which he replied was not reassuring, then blatantly pretended to change his train of thought “I must say, this dolphin kigurumi you're wearing really suits you.”  
“I...Thank you, sir. I wasn't sure I could find one of my size, but y'know...”  
“Dolphins are very intelligent and sociable animals, it's no wonder that many people are...Drawn to them.”  
“I don't know about that, I simply chose the dolphin costume because I thought it'd look cute on me.” Mississippi shrugged, at which Price raised one eyebrow.  
“Cute.” he echoed, as if there could ever be something wrong with finding dolphins cute.  
“Yeah.”  
“Fair enough.” he started to take notes. Whatever was going on in his head, Henrietta was sure he would use it to find a way to get the answers he wanted.  
“Heh.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Did you know that dolphins kill for fun?” asked Price almost distractedly but still feeling a deep pleasure from unsettling the poor soldier that way.  
Mississippi gulped “N-no...I didn't know that.”  
“It's interesting how such gruesome actions come from those we least expect, isn't it?”  
Only he could make fucking _dolphins_ about betrayal, what the fuck, but Henrietta had to admit that it was working.  
  
“Y-yeah, well...I like to focus on the cuteness part, in this case.” the freelancer dismissed awkwardly, already fearing a more specific question about uncomfortable matters. Price, however, preferred to torture him in a different way.  
“Would you refer to that bonsai as a cute plant?”  
Mississippi stopped to look at it “I...Yeah, I think?”  
“Very well.” he got up and moved the small tree from the table under the board onto his desk, then proceeded to spread what looked like a series of torture instruments, inviting the freelancer to pick one with a gesture. Luckily, they were for the tree...At least, in theory. Mississippi reluctantly grabbed a big pair of shears, only to put them back down as Price tilted his head with an 'interested' smirk.  
“ _Would it reassure you_ to know that there is no right or wrong way to do it?”  
“Hm...No, not really.”  
“Are you doubting your capabilities, Agent Mississippi?”  
“What? No, not at all!” he looked around nervously and then cleared his throat “I mean...No, sir.”  
“Good. Confidence is important. In many situations, it could be even considered the key.” he grabbed a pair of shears, as if to do a demonstration, and did what almost looked like teasing to the poor tiny tree, acting like he was going to cut a certain part and then not cutting it “Sometimes a confident attitude is enough to handle properly a situation that has branched in an...” he dramatically interrupted himself by cutting a branch “ _Undesired_ direction.”  
“Yeah...” he looked back at Price as he handed the pair of shears he was holding. Henrietta genuinely wondered if those were the right tool to use or if the bastard was still messing with him. It took a little while for Mississippi to gather enough courage to cut a branch, which was met with a nod of approval. Whether it was _actual_ approval, it was hard to tell.  
“Are you enjoying the atmosphere of the celebration, so far?”  
“Oh. Uhh, yeah, I didn't really expect it, to be honest, but I don't mind having the opportunity to rest a little.”  
“I understand it must be hard for you to keep up with such stressful missions and still manage to maintain your current seventeenth position on the leaderboard.”  
Mississippi didn't know what to respond. Seventeenth out of fifty wasn't so bad in general, but this was Project Freelancer. That remark surely wasn't meant to be nice. He cut off another branch.  
“Rather than individual positions, I'm more concerned about my squad. Mitch still isn't over what happened to Rhode Island. She argued with West, the other day, and...Well. It wasn't good.”  
“I do remember that instance. She might be quite...Difficult to deal with.”  
“Not for you!” Mississippi laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood “Am I right?”  
Price just raised his head from his papers to stare at him with a dead expression, only to take notes again. Mississippi gulped and put down his shears.  
“Speaking of that incident, agent...”  
_Oh no._  
“Did Agent Michigan inform you of her latest decision following the recent discussion I had with her on the matter?”  
“I...What decision?”  
“She seemed rather...Upset regarding our choice of hiring a new agent to replace Agent Rhode Island. We...Kindly...Explained her that it was merely dictated by the _unfortunately high_ amount of failed missions that lead to the loss of several agents on the field. What she said afterwards was surprising, given her... _Animosity_ in stating that she didn't need a reminder of that...”  
“What decision?” repeated the soldier, in a much more serious tone.  
“She insisted that we shouldn't reuse Agent Rhode Island's codename after his death, despite not having said anything about the fact that the project has had three soldiers with the designation of 'Agent Wisconsin' so far, for that exact same reason.”  
  
Missippi pretended to rearrange the shears in the case that was unfolded on the desk in order to keep himself busy, at which Price backed away a little with his chair and proceeded to get up and walk around the room a little, enjoying a bit too much how the soldier fearfully made sure to follow every move with his eyes and finally stopping next to the smaller leaderboards that listed all the agents.  
“According to Agent Michigan, a substitution would not respect his memory, therefore I offered her a chance to honour him properly by taking his codename...And not only she didn't accept the offer, she demanded that nobody else received it.” he made a brief pause, then folded his hands almost anticipating the delight “I assumed, due to your newly formed romantic relationship – congratulations, by the way,” he added with the flattest tone ever, which was almost funny “that she has already discussed this with you, before making that statement. Is that correct?”  
“...No, sir.”  
“If the opportunity to take Agent Rhode Island's codename in order to honour his memory was offered to you, would you have accepted?”  
“Are you offering it to me now?”  
“I'm afraid you misunderstood my question, Agent Mississippi.”  
“Well, I-- ” he interrupted himself with a sigh “Mitch would be enraged if I did. Also, I'm the last one he saw on that ship before he died, so...I...I can't.”  
“So you agree with her that you wouldn't be strong enough for such duty?”  
“SHE'D NEVER SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!”  
Price eyed him with an expression that was both pitiful and disgusted.  
“ _Of course_.” he went back to his desk and almost lovingly glanced at those frightening tools that were still untouched “Now, would you like to continue your work on this bonsai as I ask you a series of questions about your team? _I'm sure it will help you relax a little bit_.”  
“...Yes, sir.”  
  
...And on that note, Henrietta decided to stop watching because she couldn't take it anymore. She looked through another camera and saw Carolina sitting alone in the classroom, wearing a unicorn kigurumi, revising her AI theory notes.  
Someone peeked through the door.  
“Hi, Lina!” the annoying voice of the annoying nicknamer called her attention. Her wearing what was basically a playboy bunny costume didn't help either.  
“Oh...Hi...'Della'.”  
“Have you seen Tex?”  
“No.” she replied in a rude tone, even _mentioning_ Tex was enough to ruin her mood “Why do you ask me?!”  
“Well, you hate her because she's better – and hotter, might I add – than you, so I figured you'd know where she is. I wanted to show her my costume!”  
“I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS, OKAY?!”  
“Calm down, Lina!”  
“AND DON'T CALL ME LINA.”  
“Come on, I wouldn't have bothered you by asking you that if others knew! Minnie told me that Suri told her that Penny told her that Massachussets told her that Louisiana told her that Maryland told her that Montana told her that Indiana told her that Oregon told her that Colorado told her that Oklahoma told her--”  
“DELAWARE, I SWEAR TO GOD...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...that New Hampshire told her that Kentucky told him that New Mexico told him that Nevada told her to ask the A-Team, because they always know everything! ...But they didn't know.”  
“The A-what?”  
“The A-team! Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas and Arizona, DUH. You're really out of the loop with the socializing, are you? Not surprising since you're here alone in the classroom being a nerd, but still. They even have a band, I think Florida made a poster for their concert, once. I went to see them, but eh, you know how I feel about all-men bands, but then I remembered they did a song about how they hated the food of the mess hall and I was like...Hate! That's the keyword! So I went looking for you.”  
“That makes sense.” replied Carolina sarcastically.  
“I know, right? So, you didn't see her?”  
“No.”  
“Oh well, bye!”  
After Delaware left, Carolina let out a sigh. York with his silly horse mask still on entered the room.  
“Hello, there, Carolina. I heard a sexy unicorn girl was waiting for her stallion...!”  
Not even the time for Carolina to say anything in response that Florida laughed from a couple of seats away, _and Henrietta could swear that he wasn't there before_ , and clapped enthusiastically – wearing a peacock costume, as if it wasn't weird enough.  
“Son, you never fail to amaze me!”  
“HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET HERE?!”  
  
...Yeah, that was weird. Maybe it was time to look in another room. Henrietta started spying from another camera and noticed that Tex was actually there in Price's waiting room along with CT and a few other agents that were hard to recognize because of the kigurumis. She felt she had to go there to protect them, especially Tex. Hopefully she wasn't next. Her latest appointment was very recently but she was different than everyone else and the special treatment they planned on giving her was potentially very dangerous. It was better to hurry up before something happened.  
“BAH-GAWK!” she demanded the attention of the agents in the waiting room. The three that she couldn't recognize from the camera were agents Kansas, California and Hawaii. They were wearing respectively a zebra, a chameleon and a rooster kigurumi. Henrietta seemed particularly unamused with the last one.  
“Oh! Look who's there, she's gonna appreciate this one for sure!”  
“Hawaii, _please_ \--” begged him Agent Kansas  
“Hello, Henrietta! Guess what animal I am? I'm a big cock!”  
“... _Bawk_.”  
Both Tex and CT shook their heads.  
“Oh, come on. It's not that bad.” he pouted.  
“Yes it is.” insisted Kansas.  
“Also, Florida did it better with his peacock costume.” added California, closing his eyes and nodding solemnly.  
“Anyway...” Tex preferred to change the subject to something less awkward “What are you doing here?”  
“Bawk. Hawk cluck-cluck bawk gawk. Cluck bawk, bah-gawk cluck bawk.”  
“Oh, don't worry about me, I'm fine. I'm just saving the seat for Mitch who is finishing training and coming here for Mississippi. She asked me nicely, and since Connie is waiting here too because she's next I thought 'why not'.”  
Fuck. No way Connie was going to be next. If she got caught, consequences would've been horrible, so Henrietta had to do something, especially since the poor girl was silent and clearly nervous. She immediately pecked a message for Price in less of a second.  
“ **Regular schedules do not apply during spirit week, do they? Either way, I am a Church, therefore as a superior I order you to cancel all the other appointments and have a nice session with ME. Hopefully I'm making myself clear enough for you to comply, you little bitch.** ”  
“ **Of course. Do not disappoint me, sweetie.** ” he texted back almost as fast. Which was surprising since he was still interrogating Mississippi but then again, nobody ever knew what to expect with Price. Henrietta switched her focus back to the conversation of the waiting room.  
“By the way, everyone's criticizing my costume but like...I know Connie doesn't want to partake, but why are _you_ in armour, Tex? They literally praised you for how grateful to the project you are, this morning! One would expect more from 'the best agent', just saying...”  
Luckily for Tex, Hawaii didn't catch the underlying remark in that praise despite his dirty mind and her dignity was safe, but unluckily for him, _she_ knew what it meant and the anger from that statement was coming again.  
“Like, seriously, what animal are you supposed to be?”  
Tex grunted in annoyance and clenched her fists as she got up, looked him dead in the eyes and finally responded:  
“I'm a bitch.”  
After that, she punched him in the face and simply left, with everyone else staring at her in silence with both shock and awe.


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to keep Connie from being recognized as the traitor, Henrietta has to go through hell during her session with the Counselor, who has been in a 'strange mood' all day. In doing so, she accidentally befriends and follows the adventures of Agent Michigan, a freelancer that isn't a copy of Allison like Tex but is close enough to get herself in trouble. Said trouble ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's start with the nice things first, Mitch is loosely inspired from my friend IMAgentMI's Agent Michigan, so the vague similarities that you may spot are made on purpose as a tribute :)  
> This chapter was hard for me to write because of the animal cruelty, which is a major trigger for me, but the story was pretty much set up to go in this direction so it was kind of inevitable. Sometimes you gotta horrify yourself to make a backstory fanfiction that serves as an overly long gag. Sensitive content listed here.  
> \---  
> TRIGGER WARNING: Bullying, Animal Cruelty, Torture, Blood, Eye Injury, Implied Alcohol Abuse, Prostitution (mentioned very swiftly), Internalized Slutshaming.

As Tex walked away, Henrietta started pondering over what to do next. It was smart of her to decide to delay Connecticut's session, buying some time was always useful, yet now she had to figure out how to keep Price occupied enough to interfere with his plan. Given he was willing to devote an hour to her, some _fun_ was already programmed as a response, but certainly he didn't see any 'animal' as a threat. He didn't seem to have assumed that she knew any information regarding the issue, so she had more or less been digging her hole herself with that provocation. Either way, if only for an hour, it was going to keep the freelancers safe and that was a good thing.  
She looked around and saw that agents California and Kansas were still there, along with Hawaii but Tex's punch knocked him out. Asking Connecticut to talk in private would have looked suspicious, but she knew that the girl was smart enough to give vague responses to questions that the language barrier made impossible for others to understand, or at least for Price. She asked whether the other three agents could understand her:  
“Gawk bawk bah-gawk hawk bawk bawk?”  
“No. Go ahead.”  
“Bah-gawk hawk bawk cluck?”  
“I think I'm going to the training room after my session, why do you ask?”  
_Goddammit, Connie, stop making me sound like I have a plan_ , Henrietta thought.  
“Bawk...Hawk cluck cluck bawk cluck bawk. Gawk bawk bawk! Cluck.”  
“What, really? He didn't tell me.”  
“Bah-gawk.”  
“Oh well, I'll just...Wait for Mitch and then do some warm-up.” not even the time to speak that her friend arrived. Agent Michigan was one of the few codenamed soldiers that were actual adults instead of college age kids that didn't know better, she even seemed to have a few wrinkles around that pair of blue eyes which rather than innocence showed some untold experience. A beautiful portrait of adult wisdom...Wearing a beaver kigurumi.  
“Ah! Speak of the devil...!” Connecticut crossed her arms as soon as he noticed the outfit “Wait, why are you wearing a beaver costume? You said you weren't going to dress up!”  
“Yeah, well, I might be older, but I won't leave all the fun to the kids! I just like this kind of stuff, it doesn't mean I'm about the drama or something...Speaking of which, any idea on why Tex is so mad?”  
“Him.” Connie nodded towards Agent Hawaii, still on the floor, mumbling dizzily.  
“Hey, Mitch, are you a beaver? _Because dam_!”  
Michigan sighed and shook her head. “No, I'm sure it's not him.”  
“I can give you some wood, if you want!” he insisted, only for Mitch to knock him out again. Henrietta cackled at that.  
“I saw her punching North in the face mid-conversation.” she explained “North, of all people! She doesn't attack those who are nice to her, normally, so I guess she's just extra pissed.”  
Strange that this woman already figured out an important trait that everyone had always misunderstood even back when Allison was still alive. Henrietta decided that she liked her. A friend of Tex was her friend too, so good news!  
_Din don!_  
Oh no. There it was, bad news coming. It was almost like she wasn't allowed to even have a happy _thought_ , for fuck's sake. If FILSS had something to say it was never a good sign.  
“Notice: only authorized freelancers have access to the training room outside of the regular schedule during Spirit Week. Agent Texas is required to discuss her personal schedule with the Director himself in order to obtain an authorization. If the Director is not available to provide the needed supervision during an authorized training session, Agent Texas will skip her training until further notice. Have a nice day!”  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Well, I guess that answers your question.” commented Agent Kansas.  
  
Henrietta didn't quite know what to think of FILSS's message. Of course it was meant to keep Tex safe and decrease the chances of unexpected damage, and having her discover her true nature would probably make the situation worse, yet...In Tex's eyes, there was no reason for the special treatment she was receiving, at least not during Spirit Week. Besides, judging by her reaction to Hawaii's comment, she really seemed afraid of anyone finding out what the head staff thought of her. She wasn't the type to care for what others said, and wasn't the type to slutshame either, but that unusual fear of having others find out suggested that she did agree at least a little bit with those sneaky insinuations...  
Tex was everything but a whore, if anything she was being faithful by sleeping with her own husband. Then again, she didn't know, but even 'cheating on Alpha' wasn't enough for anyone to be entitled to treat her like less of a being. Neither was a sex worker doing her job, for that matter, which was a reality for the host body before it died.  
_Fuck_. Calling that poor woman an 'it', if only in one's mind, was in terrible taste, Henrietta thought. The truth was that so many absurd changes came along with Tex's existence: Alpha's torture, the fragments that were being harvested, the host bodies, the lies, and as for Carolina...The extra pressure was taxing on her mind, and it inevitably came with Tex. It was the Director's fault, but...Even Henrietta that loved Allison so much couldn't deny that Tex made everything worse. For a second, she wondered if the situation could be fixed somehow. Assuming that it was possible to bring Allison back properly, would Carolina be okay again? Would the Director be okay again? It wouldn't have erased all those years of suffering, but maybe it could fix them, if she informed Tex of her true nature. Their bond would become stronger and they could focus on the actual war or even ditch everything and run away to live on their own and start over. It didn't have to be bad. God, dreaming didn't cost anything in terms of money but it sure was demanding, dignity wise...A cluck of embarrassment escaped her beak, and everyone in the waiting room gave her a questioning look.  
She was interrupted by Michigan's laughter as Mississippi finally exited the office. It was a sweet, warm laugh - a bit like Allison's, actually. Maybe it was time to focus on something else.  
“Hey, you okay? What happened to you?”  
The poor man just gulped in fear, face paling and eyes staring in the distance.  
“I have never felt more violated in my whole life.”  
  
“Was it _that_ bad?” Michigan lovingly wrapped an arm around him “Do you want me to talk to him?”  
Friends with Tex _and_ unintimidated by the evil Counselor? Henrietta _definitely_ liked that lady.  
“I'm looking forward to it, Agent Michigan.” replied the bastard as he checked on the waiting room “However, if you're suggesting we have a session right now instead of sticking to the one we scheduled for tomorrow, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline due to... _Other matters_ that demand to be prioritized.” needless to say, his eyes were now on Henrietta, and he was struggling to hide the evident disgust he felt. He reserved an equally disgusted look to Agent Hawaii, to the point that Kansas and California felt intimidated into putting him back together. Michigan glanced at Henrietta in confusion for a second, but then limited herself to squinting almost defiantly at him and then nodding. Connecticut puffed in discomfort, which prompted him to speak to her.  
“Agent Connecticut?”  
“Yes, sir?”  
“There has been a recent change of schedule and--”  
“I know. Henrietta informed me.”  
“You might want to refer to her as Miss Peckerman, agent.” he condescendingly reprimanded her, both insulting her and lowkey expressing his frustration at Henrietta's importance and the same time “ _While I understand how urgently you need this session_ , respecting authority and related...Decisions is equally important.”  
“What is that supposed to mean?” Michigan scoffed “She just said she knew about the change of schedule. She wasn't questioning the chicken's authority or anything!”  
“Mitch...!” Mississippi nervously whispered as Price turned to stare at her, thus at both of them.  
“Actually, this encounter may require more time compared to a standard session.” he grabbed Henrietta, his face not showing emotion but his grip communicating a certain anger “For this reason, all of you are welcome to...Enjoy...Your preferred activities for the rest of the day until further notice. In that case, I will have FILSS contact you. Thank you for patience, you are dismissed.”  
“Heh...” Mississippi gently freed himself from Michigan's grip “Alright, then. Let's go...”  
  
After making sure everyone was gone and closing the door, Price placed Henrietta on his desk, which he himself wasn't fond of, so why the hell would he do that, Henrietta wondered. Probably because he wanted to pretend to be over that episode, because he was a petty ass bitch, she concluded.  
It was nice to see the bonsai on that desk too, it was something out of place, and she was always eager to spot a hint of imperfection in him, and seeing him move the plant back to its designed small table was somehow satisfying.  
She immediately changed her mind when the motherfucker sat in his chair and started glancing back and forth from her to the scary gardening tools, from the tools to her...But it was just his way of scaring her, right? Even if he had the balls to hurt her like that, and she bet he did not, he was a relatively small human and now that she knew what to expect she was prepared enough, not only to fight back, but to win.  
“Alright.” he commenced “I'm assuming you want to inform me of something important, so please go ahead. I will make sure to help the best I can.”  
“ **Good.** ” she texted through her device “ **You ARE here to assist, after all.** ”  
“Indeed.”  
“ **Is this amazingly dumbass idea for working for you?** ”  
“Do I already have to remind you that this session was not my idea?”  
“ **I MEANT THE FREELANCER SPIRIT WEEK, YOU DUMBASS BITCH.** ”  
He glanced down at the tablet, and pondered what to say for a moment. His response?  
“Yes, it is. Thank you very much.”  
“ **So you found the traitor? You better hurry up, if not.** ”  
“Not yet. However, this is only the first of seven days of testing. By the end of the week, the traitor will be spotted and...Handled properly, according to the orders I am being given. I'm sure I have already proven myself to be compliant.”  
“ **Are you actually confident in your response or are you just being a kissass?** ”  
“I'm sorry if this sounds unprofessional, but...You have an unexpectedly big ego for such a small creature.” he almost looked like he was holding back a chuckle “Wouldn't it be more beneficial to act civilized, due to the increased risk of misunderstanding caused by our...Differences?”  
“ **First of all, I could say the same thing to you. Second of all, I descend from dinosaurs, bitch,** **there's no such thing as a big ego when you're part dinosaur** **. Third of all, shut** **the fuck** **up.** ”  
“As you wish.” he responded pettily only to start staring at her in complete silence for a few minutes. Henrietta thought about what to say as that awkward staring contest kept going on, but at the same time that motherfucker took way too much pleasure in twisting others' words. Words were his weapon, but Henrietta had a beak and claws. Not even the time to finish that thought that her instincts took over and she was already attacking him.

  
It took a little bit before he managed to free himself, but after he finally pushed her away, she decided it was satisfying enough to stop in that moment. She observed with a bit too much interest as he reached for a tissue and wiped blood from a scratch she made on his lip. The pained moan that came with it sounded delightful to her.  
“ **That's a great look for you.** ” she texted and cackled “ **And you make lovely noises when you're in pain, we should do it again sometime.** ”  
He seemed almost offended for a second: “How exactly was your reaction proportional to my response?”  
“ **It doesn't have to be. I'm your superior and you just have to adjust to whatever I do. Sucks to be you, I guess!** ”  
“Are you aware that your bad attempt at copying the Director's approach towards me won't restore the original dynamic? If anything, it reinforces the current one. If I wasn't a mature person and complained to him about this attack, he would take my side.”  
_Fuck_. He was right and she hated when he was right.  
“ **Yeah, speaking of the Director: what happened to him?** ”  
“That is a...Broad question.”  
“ **What is,** _ **Counselor**_ **, you're not smart enough to answer a broad question?** ”  
“ _What I'm trying to say_ is that the Director was already upset because of...Events that you are familiar with, and with Agent Texas being unable to recognize him, his health worsened. On the other hand, giving her the benefit of doubt would be a more suitable solution rather than having her know the truth and possibly rejecting him, which I'm afraid would only be the start of a series of many...Unfortunate events.”  
“ **Last time I had an actual conversation with him, you were there.** **I** **t was in the lab when he told me about the plan to split the Alpha,** **y** **ou know, the plan that included TORTURE, no big deal! In what fucking universe is torturing yourself a solution?!** ”  
“In a universe in which torturing others is illegal.” Price shrugged it off immediately as if it was the most obvious thing. “Is there anything else you wish to discuss?”  
“ **Are you fucking kidding me?! He used to have morals, he would've never hurt a fly. What the fuck did you do to him?** ”  
“I did not do anything to the Director. Even assuming that I wanted to damage him in any way, I would still have to obey his commands and wouldn't even have the time to plot against him. Every consequence that he is facing, he has calculated personally.” cue obligatory dramatic pause “Oh. By the way...The Alpha, too, makes lovely noises when he is in pain.”

  
Those words completely enraged her, but as soon as she tried to jump and attack him again, he held her down with his hand, similarly to when he hypnotized her that one time. He deleted the conversation history from the device on her foot, then smirked.  
“There there. I'm sure you do as well.” he grabbed a pair of shears laying there on the desk and brought it way too close to Henrietta's left wing.  
_He won't do it, he can't do it_ , she thought. A part of her insisted that there was no way he could do such thing and get away with it. Reality, however, stated otherwise with the first of many, deep, painful cuts.  
A pained squawk followed, and then another, and then another. She couldn't break free but at the same time she didn't want to focus her glance on anything. What to focus on, her own blood and feathers on the desk, the now dirty tools, the bonsai, or those happy posters on the wall that almost felt like they were making fun of her?  
What did it in was the Counselor's expression: the man who was one the closest things she knew to the devil himself and that was taking such delight in hurting her was looking at her with hauntingly curious wide eyes as he tortured her, looking for some reason like a small child that had no idea he was doing something wrong. Children did that, sometimes, they went with what felt good, and if it felt good it couldn't be wrong, but those were dismissed as _animal_ instincts. Humans were always the ones who knew better, those who invented morals and decided which actions were irrational or merciless or both. It became painfully evident that her choice to believe that humans could be good, regardless of all of that, was a mistake. She should've just stayed with her baby chicks without bothering to bond with humans, and maybe her real family would be still alive by then. In either case, everytime she saw bloody feathers around her it was her fault.  
  
Needing a new love and home only brought more pain, it brought her to the point and what did she earn from all of that? _Leonard didn't care_.  
She could insist all she wanted that the Leonard she knew was dead and that the man that was in charge of the project was simply 'the Director', but if he was dead it was because he didn't care about anything anymore. Whether Henrietta could blame him or not, it didn't matter, the result didn't change.  
“Such a shame, isn't it?” Price suddenly spoke, almost reading her mind, with a tone of voice that while creepy as usual had something different to it, it sounded distracted “You would think he doesn't care about you, but that's not the truth. He does care, but he doesn't _see_ you. If you swallowed your pride, you would understand...”  
He let her go only to await her response, knowing that she was in too much pain to attack him.  
“ **Can I ask you a question?** ”  
A moment of silence followed. She had to peck on the desk to make him snap out of whatever his fucked up brain was doing.  
“ **If you hate every living creature so fucking much, why did you choose this job?** ”  
“These sessions are not about me.” he blocked her again, and prepared to cut her other wing “However, we can reach a compromise: if you accept to never ask me personal questions, you will be dismissed immediately and I will not...Mistreat you again, regardless of how you treat me.”  
Henrietta stopped to think.  
That offer didn't sound too bad, but there was _no way_ it was going to be actually good, especially since he was trying to make himself look like the victim. It was strange, almost kind of nice, that Price acted so defensive in response to such a simple question that wasn't even completely serious. It was a good sign, though: that sudden decrease in formality meant that he was starting to show weakness. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe his enthusiasm betrayed him; whatever it was, Henrietta could take advantage of it.  
“ **I only came here to see what you were up to, it just makes sense for me to ask the questions, and I order you to answer.** ” she texted back.  
“I am merely surviving by doing what I'm good at.” he glanced away in mild discomfort “It's already more than you need to know...”  
“...Bawk?”  
He clenched his fist around another, bigger tool, emitting some faint choked noise. She never saw him like that. If he wasn't evil incarnate, she would have thought he was being possessed by some external force.  
“For your information, I don't 'hate every living creature'.” he made Henrietta feel the cold metal at the base of her wing this time, applying a slight pressure “On the contrary, I have always been... Very fascinated with animals.”  
With a firm move, he used all his strength to rip off her whole right wing, not minding where the blood went, just enjoying her loudest squawk of excruciating pain. This time, she couldn't even try to focus on something else, it was too much to bear. The only thing she had the strength to do was to close her eyes and internally pray for him to stop. Thank God, he did stop.  
Even without seeing him, she could perceive his face getting closer and closer. He's just trying to mess with me, she thought, he has already tortured me enough for today.  
She didn't know what to expect, at that point, but it surely wasn't what happened: a kiss between her eyes. A morbidly long one at that, too.  
“You have no idea how pretty you look to me in this moment.” his tone was strangely suggestive “Thank you for playing with me, today. _We should do_ _it_ _again, sometime_.”  
She opened her eyes and glared at him, at which he responded with an unusually genuine yet still malevolent smile.  
“Walk it off, the healing unit will take care of it for you.”  
Luckily for her, he didn't think of moving his face out of the way, making himself an easy target even if she was in a weakened state. If only to have the last word, she pecked his left eye out. He dropped his big shears still holding the bloody wing and brought his hands to his eye, groaning as blood came out. At least the blood wasn't hers, Henrietta thought, feeling a very faint hint of relief as he was paying for what he just did. She felt her head spinning, everything was becoming blurry as the blood loss started to become too much to handle. Her last glance went, for some reason, to the blinding light of the leaderboard. How strange was it that an invention made to bring distress was a comforting thought, in that moment? Maybe Leonard was gone, but Carolina and Tex were still there. _They cared_.

  
When she woke up, she saw a freelancer wearing a silly giraffe kigurumi, tilting his head as he looked at her from a safe distance.  
“Bawk...Bah-gawk?”  
“Huh?”  
“Hey, Neb!” Michigan called him from the other side of the room “Is she awake?”  
“Yeah. She seems okay. Do you know how to communicate with her?”  
“Sure, hold on a second.”  
Michigan turned to Price, whom she was medicating. He had a bandage on his damaged eye, and still blood on his clothes, but other than that he seemed normal, whatever the fuck normal meant for his standards.  
“We need to use your tablet.”  
“I'm sorry, agent, but it is against protocol. While I suppose I could make an exception lend it to you, I would not advise it.”  
“How so? It's only for a couple of minutes! What's so important that you don't want us to see?”  
“You do ask a lot of questions, for someone who isn't fond of...Our conversations.”  
The woman groaned, glanced back to Henrietta and then got closer to Price, mostly in order to speak more quietly so that the others couldn't hear them, but Henrietta had exceptional hearing.  
“I have worked in the medical field before becoming an agent. It's not part of my current job description to provide this kind of service, and since it was a favour outside of the job, I thought you could do us this favour in exchange... _Sir_.”  
Finally someone who effectively stood up to that asshole. Go, Mitch!  
“If I may, Agent...” he went back to his professional attitude, although Michigan didn't seem to mind the previously slightly irritable behaviour due to the painful injury “I would prefer to communicate with Miss Peckerman personally, as I was the only one present in the moment we were attacked.”  
_We_ were attacked?!  
“You were attacked?” asked Nebraska in confusion.  
“Hawk bawk bah-gawk?!”  
“Correct. Right after Agent Michigan left with agents Mississippi, Connecticut, California, Hawaii and Kansas, Miss Peckerman and I decided to move to the artificial garden. We figured it would have been helpful for our session.” he interrupted himself with a sigh “Unfortunately, our team has encountered some...Issues in keeping at bay the other animals that were present in the nearby area and one has escaped. An alarm was triggered and the doors were shut down, we made it out just in time. Hence why we were back at my office after the attack, I had left my tablet there and wanted to use it to ask for help.”  
“...And that's when Mitch found you, sir?”  
“ _Indeed_.”  
“Oh...That makes sense.”  
No, it didn't! What the fuck? Baffled. Henrietta was absolutely baffled, or at least that was the only word that she could make out, among all the other nasty ones that were coming to her mind. How the fuck did he manage to pull such story out of his ass in the bat of an eye – no pun intended – was a mystery, and also outrageous. Oh, outraged was another word to describe how she felt. Other two were 'motherfucking enraged'.  
“Well, please be careful, then; you don't want to put too much strain on your good eye.” Michigan abandoned her defiant tone in favour of a genuinely warm smile and encouragingly laid a hand on his shoulder, not that she liked him, it was clearly a reflex that came natural to those who like her were _actually_ nice people.  
“Thank you very much.” he reciprocated the smile, although his was faint and fake, and 'kindly' moved her hand away “Don't worry about me, I can handle myself.”  
Yeah, _unfortunately_.  
“So...” Agent Nebraska was curious “What animal attacked you and Miss Peckerman?”  
“Oh, it was a...Hybrid species. It looks similar to a big cat.”  
“What, like a puma?”  
“Precisely.”

  
Henrietta was just about to start cursing at Price but she was interrupted by a clicking sound and an odd feeling on her right side.  
“By the way,” enthusiastically commenced the male freelancer “I like to put my mechanical skills at work, in my spare time, so I modified this robot hand I built into a robot wing!”  
He sweetly smiled at Henrietta as he showed it implanted on her through a mirror “The healing unit took care of the bleeding and the scarring, so we could intervene immediately, but an amputated limb can only heal so much...Are you happy with your robotic wing?”  
“CLUCK BAWK!” she responded joyfully.  
“I programmed the feathers to move like human fingers would. Try to see if it works!”  
Finally, after years and years spent in an entirely animal body, Henrietta could experience something beautiful that only a human could make possible: giving Price the middle finger. Mitch let out an inelegant snorting laugh, Price shook his head. After that, he started staring at her for whatever reason, which made her uncomfortable.  
“Is...Is everything alright?”  
“Have you ever seen Agent Texas out of armour?”  
Henrietta clucked in confusion. What did Tex had to do with any of that?  
“Hm...No, I don't think so.” she raised her hands before he could reply “Yeah, yeah, it's weird that I am sorta friends with her and I've never seen her face, I know.”  
“Do _you_ think it's strange?”  
“I...Guess?”  
“I didn't mean to make any remark about that, I just wondered whether you were aware of the physical resemblance that you and Agent Texas share.”  
“Really? Tex looks like me?”  
“Well, not exactly the same, Agent Texas has...Longer hair. Other than that, yes, you do share many features, including physical ones.”  
“Bawk?” Henrietta didn't like that last sentence. Not that being compared to Allison could have been an offense in any way, but it was still coming from someone with bad intentions. Especially since Tex's host body looked too young compared to Mitch, and that deliberate omission sounded suspicious.  
“Oh. I...Alright, then. Is there a particular reason why you wanted me to know this or...?”  
“No particular reason.” he went silent for a bit, blatantly pretending to go back to the odd mood he was in before “I'm sorry, I...I've had a long day.”  
“Looks like it! How many sessions did you have today?”  
“Nine in a row, as of now.” he checked the hour on his tablet “I'm going to have to continue after your dinner break. I suppose I could rearrange my material, in the meantime.”  
“Or you could have dinner too. Plus some rest, maybe.”  
“Thank you for your concern, but I already had my rest.”  
“ _When?_ ”  
“Two days ago.”  
“You haven't slept?!”  
“Excuse me, Agent? One of the reasons why the Spirit Week was started is that at the moment it is not safe for you and any other freelancer to be outside the ship. Not until we find the...Data that we are looking for. Hence why it is very important for us to keep working.”  
“I understand, but we are both aware that lack of sleep can bring many bad side effects, and y'know, you might as well set a good example. Not really for me, but for the other agents, since they're mostly kids.”  
“ _I set a good example by following the rules, Agent Michigan_.” he promptly put her back in her place “ _Hopefully I'm making myself clear._ ”  
“...Crystal.”  
“I must say...You did an excellent work. Thank you for helping.”  
“You're welcome, sir.”  
“Perhaps I could use some rest, after all.” he looked around as he got up “Would it interfere with your activities to take care of Miss Peckerman while I take some time to recover?”  
“Not at all, don't worry about that.”  
“Alright, then. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.”  
“Goodnight... _Sir_.”  
After Price left, Nebraska let out a chuckle.  
“Mitch, you seriously need to stop mothering everyone.”  
“Hey! Someone has to.”  
“Like when you told the Director to 'shave that rat nest off his face'? Do I have to remind you how well that went? You can't talk like that to authority figures.”  
“You know I know.” she groaned “But I will practice being respectful with Henrietta, if you want.”  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
“Good enough.” she grabbed the hen “We're going for a walk.”  
  
“Alright, so, I don't really know how to talk to you, but Tex and Connie apparently do, so I gotta get with the program!” laughed Michigan. It was pleasant to see someone try to make some effort to communicate with her, so far it had always been a matter of either understanding naturally or not even bothering, with no in between. There was Price that was forced to listen, and then there was this nice lady, who just like her was a bit rough in her ways but always motherly and up to good, no wonder Tex was friends with her. It was one of the reasons why Allison was friends with Henrietta in the first place. Allison, the _real_ Allison, would have liked Mitch as well. She probably would have looked like exactly like her too, had she had the opportunity to age. _Oh_. So _that_ was what Price meant? If so, he surely had a point, come to think about it...  
“I don't know what you think about this whole authority thing, but sometimes it's really hard for me. I don't want to be disrespectful but sometimes the staff's decisions are...I don't know, completely insane? I just want everyone to go through as little harm as possible, of course I want to question things and know what happened.”  
Finally someone with a brain.  
“I know that the Counselor does too.” she continued.  
Nevermind, nevermind.  
“He wouldn't be a doctor if he didn't care, would he? I don't like to admit it, but he's good at what he does. Definitely too condescending for my taste, but most of the times he tells me that I have to calm down he is right.” she sighed, both because of what she said and because the gate to the artificial garden was closed and the whole area, which she meant to check, was unaccessible “Don't tell him I said it, though.”  
Henrietta cackled. An idea came to her mind: since she now had a robot wing that could work like a human hand, she could use it to write the truth, and tell her what his real intentions were. Although she had to admit she was the one to use violence first, and provoking a clearly sociopathic individual was a horrible idea with no chance of going anywhere good. Either way, she still had Connecticut's dog tag, and after what happened, it was payback time. She was sorry for Leonard, but no good intentions that he _initially_ had were worth torturing her, the Alpha, Tex and the poor agents. Yes, it was decided: she was going to put the dog tag back in the locker so that she stop that madness but she was also going to do something nice for the Director, be with him as much as possible, if only to keep him company before they arrested him. Although, sure, saving him would have been very nice, too. God, did she miss him. Sometimes she could almost hear his voice.  
“Do Ah wawnuh kno whawt haeppeuhned heah?” Ah yes, his lovely, raspy, resigned voice. _Wait_.  
  
“Director...!” Michigan turned around and saw him out of classroom, with his back resting against the door, giving her a puzzled look. “I wanted to tell you about this, sir, but I haven't seen you since this morning.”  
He stared at her for no reason, mouth slightly opened, his face looking like it didn't know whether to pale or blush, doing some strange mix of both, but ended up mostly red. Henrietta suspected he wasn't completely sober, too.  
“...Director?”  
“Ah've byeen beezy. Claesrum woehrk.”  
“I thought no one came to class, today?”  
“Caer'lahna dyieed. Took myee uhbaht two howahs tuh dyzmyess heuh. Thaet chald di'n't eevuhn botha tuh weah uh cawschum awf uh reeuhl aenumul. Ah dunno whawt tuh do wyeth heuh.”  
“Heh...” she didn't quite know what to say “Yeah, I suppose she can be difficult sometimes.”  
“And thaen awv course, Aygeuhnt Taexuhs...”  
“What about her?”  
“Huh?”  
“Texas.”  
“...”  
“...”  
The Director squinted.  
“You're nawt Taexsuhs.”  
“I...Never said I was?”  
“Nevuh sed yuh waz who?”  
“What?”  
“Whawt?”  
“You seem unwell. Do you...Do you want me to take you to your room?”  
“Ah'm maerried.”  
“I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!” she shouted in response, completely flustered “Actually, uhhh, you know what? I have to go. With your permission--”  
“WAYT!”  
“...Yes, sir?”  
“Whawt haeppeuned tuh heuh?” he nodded towards Henrietta, although that might have been an involuntary gesture as he seemed to have trouble standing up straight.  
“It's a long story, I doubt you would understand in your current state.” she moved Henrietta on top of her head “I will explain everything tomorrow. In the meantime I'll make sure you get to bed.” she put the Director's arm on her shoulder, placed a hand around his waist and proceeded to help him walk to his room. He let out some content mumble as he turned his head to look at her, burying his face in her neck, much to her discomfort.  
“Mmm...Yuh smael so gud...”  
“Uhh...Thanks.” she replied with the most disgusted expression “Can't say the same about you.”  
“Whah dya haev tuh be meen awl th'tahm?” he whined “Ah juhst nyeeda be haeld.”  
“Yeah...I've noticed.” she muttered back, happy about not hearing anything in response and finally getting to destination without further awkwardness. “Well, here we are. I should go now...Take care.”  
After Agent Michigan was gone, the Director opened the door to his room and somehow managed to close it behind him immediately, despite his compromised reflexes, leaving Henrietta out. Since both him and Price were down, she decided to invest that time in putting the dog tag back to where it belonged. The only thing that was left to do was to wait for Tex to go back in her room so that she could be powered down. It took a little, but in the end she managed. That day didn't feel like a single one, it felt like three days at least and she couldn't believe it was finally ending.

  
As for the following day, it was quite the opposite. Due to all the nonsense that went on, Henrietta ended up oversleeping. Not that her contribution mattered, given how Price was putting effort in cutting her off whenever she did something. Literally, at that point. She decided she was going to spend the whole day looking from the cameras without interacting with anyone.  
Oh, there it was, the counseling session with Mitch that Price had promised. Little bitch looked way too fresh for someone that had just lost an eye.  
“Does Miss really have to wait outside the door like a dog?” she laughed. Henrietta didn't know what she was referring to, until she saw she had one hand in handcuffs. The other half was for Agent Mississippi, apparently. Which was probably fucked up but Henrietta's brain was so tired that she figured she might as well let that happen, after all that bullshit.  
“It is just for this session, it is my duty to make sure that your privacy isn't violated.”  
“Oh yeah? What if he wanted to eavesdrop, then? He's right out of the door.”  
“Don't worry about that, I have the right system to correct that kind of behaviour.”  
“Cutting up a bonsai? He said you had him do that, yesterday.”  
“Suggestions on how you would like me to improve my performance on the job are always welcome.”  
“I...What?”  
“That was a sincere exhortation. Not everything is a test, Agent Michigan.” Price shrugged.  
“I know, I'm sorry, I just...Wait, is _this_ a test?”  
“Do you believe that a high amount of failures would be justified, if everything was a test? I'm assuming that is the reason why you are so...Devoted to this vision of the project.”  
“EXCUSE ME?”  
“I'm sorry, is there perhaps another reason why you are asking me that question that I am not aware of?”  
“Is...Is this about the casualties of last week?! Because this is my hour, I have the right to be told whatever I need to be told in a direct way.”  
“...Would you like to discuss what happened on your last mission?”  
“No! No, I don't. Isn't this the 'Freelancer Spirit Week'? Why don't we talk about nice Spirit Week stuff, instead? Did you like my beaver costume, yesterday?”  
“It was a lovely costume.”  
“Glad you liked it.”  
“In fact, seeing how much kigurumis were a success was the reason why we voted for twin day for today's theme. It's a pity that there has been that unfortunate misunderstanding, with all those couples protesting about the surprise miscellaneous outfits accessories that were assigned to them to keep all day.”  
“Well, Counselor, having to wear bikinis and spreader bars during training where you get shot is not considered a fun way of celebrating, or at least very few of us view it that way.”  
“To be fair, no one is forced to follow the day's theme nor to attend a training session. I would understand, however, if you decided to stop.”  
“Why would I decide to stop? I like dressing up, and I'm not afraid to put myself out there, a riskier training session can only be nice.”  
“I really appreciate your enthusiasm, Agent Michigan. Thank you for being a part of this...Remarkable experience.”  
“Yeah...Must be hell for Mississippi, though, he wasn't really convinced about this Spirit Week to begin with, mostly did it because I wanted to and now...Well, we're sharing a pair of handcuffs so I guess I'm literally dragging him into this!”  
“You mean Agent Rhode Island?”  
“Huh?”  
“I am aware you have mentioned not wanting us to reuse the late Agent Rhode Island's designation, and that you refused to make it your own; however, while he was very dubious and reluctant due to your decision regarding the matter, your partner has eventually accepted to take his codename and honour Rhode Island properly.”  
“...”  
“...Oh. He didn't inform you?”  
“HE DID _WHAT_?!”  
Goddammit, Price, Henrietta bawked to herself as she switched to another security camera. What caught her attention was Tex, walking angrily and muttering something incomprehensible. Virginia and West Virginia walked to her, wearing a giant sweater for two people in occasion of the _lovely_ twin day.  
“Hi, Tex!”  
“Shut up!”  
“Woah, are you okay?”  
“Mind your own business.”  
She seemed to be about to say more rude things to the two, but she was interrupted by Connecticut arriving in the room.  
“Hey, I was looking for you. I thought you were going to keep me company while I wait my turn for the counseling session?”  
“I...Yeah, right, I forgot. Sorry, I'm not in a good mood lately.”  
“I know, Mitch told me you punched North, yesterday.”  
“He was wearing _a moth costume_. Everyone called him Noth. He called himself Agent Moth Dakota. It's already too much that I didn't kill him.”  
“Well, yeah, but--” she interrupted herself with a laugh “Nevermind.”  
“Mh.”  
“So...Are you coming with me? I'm a little nervous...”  
“Isn't the Bitch in the middle of a session, right now?”  
“There's Mitch.”  
“That's what I said.” she started walking away “ _Mitch_.”

  
Henrietta wasn't sure whom to follow, in that moment. While she was surprised that Tex seemed to hate Michigan all of a sudden, she still liked the lady and was intentioned to protect her, and also there was Connecticut. Oh, poor Connie... The whole matter seemed to have some variable coming into place that she felt she had to be aware of. The other agents seemed to be alright, whether they were celebrating or not, so after several minutes of looking around she decided to make sure that Connie was in the waiting room. After that, she received a message from Price through her device exactly when the door was opening.  
“ **Pecking my eye out turned out to be very helpful for my plan. Thank you very much.** ”  
Whatever the fuck he was talking about, she decided to ignore it for her own good and focus on Mitch exiting the office and Connie entering it. Mississippi got up from his chair.  
“Do we have to put the handcuffs on again?”  
“Not just yet.” she growled through her teeth, visibly enraged “The Director wants to see me. After that, we need to talk...”  
The Director?! He never wanted to see anyone in private. Or at least, anyone that wasn't Tex. It had to be something really important to require such practice. On the other hand, Connie was about to have her session, and her nervousness could put her in danger. Not that Price suspected anything, he was so devoted to his wacky plan of torturing people for the sake of breaking them that he couldn't see how she was obviously the traitor, so she was most likely safe, at least until she found the dog tag and decided to do something with it. Maybe it was better to watch over Mitch and especially the Director, that man was hiding way too much, probably something bad was going on with him. He was sitting in the classroom with an almost empty whisky bottle, with the leaderboard as the only source of light. Needless to say he was staring at the name 'Texas' on top.  
“You...You wanted to see me, sir?” Agent Michigan reluctantly entered the room “Is there any problem?”  
“Whawt ahr yuh tawkin' uhbout?” he growled in annoyance “Lyeev me uhloan.”  
“I'm sorry to tell you this, but...I don't think you should be here drinking alone in the dark.”  
“Cum awn, it's juhst for uh lyettul whahl. Ahl stawp at dawn.”  
“Director, we're in _space_.”  
“Whawt uh gawddayum shayme, yisuhntyet? Ahl drienk tuh dat.”  
“Alright, listen up.” she walked up to him and energetically snatched the bottle out of his hand “Spirit Week doesn't mean you're allowed to give yourself alcohol poisoning. ” the bottle was now shattered on the floor “Shouldn't you be working to find 'the data you're looking for' that you keep talking ab--”  
“WHAWT THA HAELL YIS WRAWNG WYETH YOU?! _AH_ AM THA BAWS HEAH, AND NO WON YIS UHLAHD TUH HAEV THIES UHNUHCCAETUHBOL BYEHAVYO TOWAURDS MIE AND MAH AUTHAWRIETY! YOU, AYGEUHNT, NYEED TUH LEURN YIMMEDIATELY TUH BE RESPAECTFUL! NEVAH, EVAH DAER TUH--”  
Michigan tilted her head in confusion when he stopped yelling all of a sudden.  
“...Sir?”  
“...”  
“Are you alright? ...Are you about to have a stroke from yelling too much? Or a heart attack?”  
“...Closah.”  
“...You're closer to having a heart attack than to having a stroke?”  
“No...You...”  
“I'm fine.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...Ohhh! You want me to come closer?”  
“Yas, pleez.”  
“I-- uh, yes sir.” Mitch stepped closer “Is this enough?”  
She didn't receive any answer but she deduced it was enough, given how he seemed really focused on her lineaments; his expression was a mix of fascination and melancholy.  
“Heh...Do I have something on my face?”  
“...Nevamahnd.” he shook his head “Foargaet et.”  
“I see...Can I go, now?”  
“Juhst wone moar thang: Ah wawned tuh thank ya...Fo'...Foar yeahstuhdaye.”  
“You couldn't even stand up straight! I had to do something about it.”  
“Yiet's nawt juhst uhbht me. Ah know yuh helped mah cawlleagues as wael.”  
Michigan shrugged, with an unusually shy but still warm smile on her face.  
“I'm just doing the right thing.”  
“Yeah...Tha raht thang...”  
“You're probably surprised, aren't you?”  
The Director took off his glasses and gave her the saddest smile. It was painfully clear to Henrietta that he was thinking of Allison, about how under her rough exterior and rowdy manners her heart always sought to do the right thing. As for him...He wasn't doing the right thing, but he wasn't doing the wrongest thing – or rather, he was, but he had the best intentions. He was doing what he had to do.  
“Nawt at awl.”  
Mitch couldn't possibly know any of that, but she perceived the way he was feeling.  
“Is there something I can do for you?”  
“Ah haev anahtha bawtuhl. Wouddya lahk tuh kiep me cawmpunye 'n' drenk wyeth me? No tawkin'...Juhst drinkin'.”  
“...Yes, sir.”

Henrietta was happy to see her comply, almost embarrassed at how fast she managed to restore her faith in humanity, but it was nice to feel ashamed for once. After that encounter, Michigan went looking for Tex but she avoided her for the rest of the day. She inevitably bumped into her the following day.  
“Oh! Tex! Where were you? I didn't see you at all, yesterday.”  
“Well, now you see me.”  
“Is everything okay?”  
“ _I_ am not the one wearing a phony bitch costume, so I guess I'm okay.”  
“Phony bitch? I'm dressed like one of the most iconic actresses to have ever lived!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“ _Marilyn Monroe_. For celebrity day.”  
“Who?”  
“You don't know her?”  
“Are you making that up?”  
“WHY DOES NOBODY KNOW MARILYN MONROE ON THIS SPACESHIP?!”  
“I'm a celebrity too, look: I am, uhhh...Master Chief, but like, emo version because of the black armour. Emo Master Chief.”  
Henrietta cackled from behind the camera, Mitch raised one eyebrow.  
“ _Really, Tex?_ ”  
“Yeah. I just decided I was feeling the spirit all of a sudden, even if I said I wasn't going to dress up. Sounds familiar?”  
“I...Well--”  
“It's okay, you don't have to explain anything.”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Nobody is changing positions on the leaderboard during Spirit Week, until _all of a sudden_ you have a nice conversation with the Director and now you gained five positions.”  
“I gained five positions? Really?”  
“Oh, right, go on, keep pretending it's not why you did that to begin with.”  
“You're telling me that I helped him get his drunk ass back to bed solely to get more credit? I thought you prioritized doing the right thing too!”  
“I DO.”  
“Or, I'm sorry, does me behaving like a responsible fucking adult threaten your special treatment receiving ass?!”  
“My ass isn't receiving any special treatment!”  
“Oh really? Because from what it looks like, the Director's been giving it you everyday!”  
“Ah, yeah? Just because I'm on _top_ everyday, it doesn't mean he's giving it to me everyday, or ever.”  
“You know what? South has been saying this for a while, and I refused to believe it at first, because I was your friend, but it's becoming evident to me too: it's more like the way around. If he didn't give it to you first, you probably wouldn't be on top everyday. Or ever.”  
“What the FUCK did you just say?!” Tex cracked her knuckles “I'm so going to make you regret this, bitch.”  
“You better do, or else I'm going to have to believe that you haven't earned your posit--”  
Tex surely didn't make Michigan repeat herself. She knocked her out with one punch and then emitted a loud, frustrated groan. Private Parts walked up to her.  
“Hey, um, what's going on here?”  
“I AM NOT A WHORE!” she yelled back with even more frustration as she started walking away. After a couple of seconds she walked back there.  
“Actually, you know what, I gotta tell you something.”  
“What is it?”  
Tex punched Private Parts. In the private parts.  
“AAAHH! UGH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!”  
“Stress relief. I earned it.”  
Then she walked away again. Poor Tex was becoming so paranoid about the leaderboard following her encounters with the Director that many innocent people on the ship were suffering the ripercussions of her anxiety. Michigan was just innocently helping and didn't even mean any sentence of that conversation in the way that Tex interpreted it, but if the system was rigged – and it was – their friendship was bound to be broken, somehow. Henrietta concluded that maybe she could mediate between the two, she just had to wait for things to calm down a bit first. Let's just give it another day, she thought, we're almost at the fourth day of Spirit Week, after all. So the fourth day came.  
_Din don_!  
“Notice: due to the success of this initiative, it has been decided that the most devoted freelancer agent will be rewarded at the end of the week.” FILSS's announcement was already causing an insane amount of gasps and chatter “The ceremony will be held in the training room. Have a nice day!”  
...And right in that moment, Henrietta realized that hell was about to break loose.


	16. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Freelancer Spirit Week continues and finishes (badly). Henrietta tortures the Alpha. The Director's insanity worsens. Washington is forced to talk in drag queen slang. Wyoming shaves his mustache. Both Henrietta and Tex's motherly instincts end in disaster. Price is a weirdo. Delaware throws her bra at Tex, who punches Jeff Williams - because yeah, he's a freelancer - in the face. Connie leads a protest. Geese are released. You know, the usual. 
> 
> \---
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: alcohol abuse, abusive parenting, canon compliant depiction of torture; mentions of self-harm, suicide and animal cruelty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand after an embarrasingly long time, an even more embarrassingly long - and embarrassing - chapter. 10500+ WORDS OF ABSOLUTE DUMBASSERY. I'm really proud of how silly it is so show me some love, babies.  
> Ps. The Director's accent is its own language at this point.

FILSS was one of those things that weren't bad themselves yet everytime the situation had even remotely something to do with them trouble was incoming. A bit like Tex. Somehow, Henrietta appreciated that. She went to check the hall and instead of the _lovely_ head staff she just found the crowd of freelancers gathering in front of a big touch screen hung on the wall. They had to declare they were acknowledging that whoever proved themself to be the most devoted would have their position on the leaderboard modified accordingly as a prize, without much detail. In that announcement there wasn't any sentence that specified they had to partake, but all the agents had to sign.  
Tex didn't want to be there and was trying to blend with the rest of the crowd during that moment, but of course Carolina noticed her and emitted some kind of annoyed noise.  
“Hmph. Look who is here signing with the rest of us mortals.”  
“Listen, Carolina, I'm not fond of this either, so don't even start with me.”  
“I'm not starting anything, just pointing out something true.”  
“Ah yeah? If I call you an obnoxious toddler am I starting shit or just pointing out something true?”  
“HOW DARE YOU?!”  
“BAH-GAWK!” Henrietta interrupted them before the situation could get any worse. “Cluck bawk.”  
Carolina just groaned and elbowed Tex on her way to the screen, checking her box and signing.  
“You know what? Nevermind. I'll leave you to your...fun. _I_ have training to do, anyway. See ya.”  
She walked across the room, York was waiting for her near the gate, and she immediately started ranting to him. Thank God the rant was inaudible due to all the other agents' chatter, otherwise Tex would've most likely caught any insult and prepared to reciprocate at the very least. Instead she just picked up the hen and walked back in her room.  
“Hey, can we talk for a minute?”  
“Bawk.”  
“Actually, I'm not sure why I'm asking you. Have I ever told you you remind me of an old friend I had? Maybe it's because of that.”  
Henrietta stopped a minute to ponder. Did Tex just casually forgot about telling her that or was that another serious memory gap?  
“Either way...Do you know if I keep a diary or something?”  
A brief moment of silence followed. Tex didn't have a face but Henrietta could sense some kind of embarrassment in that question. She could only imagine what she was going through, forgetting more and more everyday. Keeping a diary actually would have been a very good solution for her mental health, but _someone_ figured that giving Tex all that power could have been dangerous. Not that Henrietta disagreed, but poor woman. Or rather, poor AI. If merely acting like a human being was enough to be a man or a woman then Henrietta could be promoted to woman too. South would have probably been demoted to rabid raccoon, according to that criteria.  
“Bawk gawk gawk.”  
“Nevermind, I just...Can't seem to remember things, lately. Did I upset the Director?”  
“...Bah-gawk?”  
“I don't know, he seemed mad at me. He kept asking me if I remembered our first private meeting, then he gave me that disappointed look, you know the one, and said that it didn't matter because nothing much happened during it. Then why was he so insistent? You're his collaborator, so...Did he tell you anything?”  
“...Baaaaawk?”  
“No reason in particular, I just don't like seeing him like that. That's all. I guess I can always ask the Counselor if you don't want t--”  
“GAWK!”  
“Why not?”  
“Bawk gawk, cluck bawk cluck-cluck bawk. Cluck.”  
“Oh. You guys don't really get along, do you?”  
“...”  
“Then can you please ask him? With discretion, of course.”  
“Bawk.”  
“Thank you. Well,” she stretched her arms behind her back “I think I should get some rest today. I'm gonna take off my ar--”  
_Click_.

  
Henrietta powered her down immediately before she could rip off parts of her body again. She wasn't going to tell the Director about this conversation, it would've only brought more pain and possible misunderstandings, but checking on him wasn't a bad idea. He was spending more and more time alone without talking to anyone, becoming increasingly irritable whenever someone tried to speak to him. He was only capable of being relatively nice to Tex and sometimes to Michigan, who started avoiding him on purpose after the events of the previous day. Henrietta allowed her to contact her via messages, and Mitch lamented that Tex insulted her in a way which suggested that the suddenness of her kind behaviour towards the Director did not go unnoticed, to the point that speculations were being made by basically everyone. Mitch insisted that the Director was anything but her type and that touching him once because he couldn't walk on his own was enough, that she wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole and that he annoyed her to no end. Henrietta wondered if Tex remembered any of that. From what she could see, all that Tex could remember was her first name and that she had a boyfriend named Leonard, without being able to tell whether she remembered his appearance or not. Oh, and apparently being friends with a chicken was important enough to be another memory. Why she was able to sorta remember Henrietta and not Carolina was a mystery. Perhaps it was because after Allison's death time had stopped, or at least it did in Leonard's head. Hence why Alpha was still so young, besides the real Allison was always so busy that she hardly ever saw her daughter, probably not even she would've recognized Carolina, so in Tex's eyes Carolina was just an envious teammate and nothing more. As heartbreaking as that was, Henrietta considered it a satisfying explanation, she was tempted to ask Price for confirmation but then she figured she would rather die.

  
Besides, the only proper way to determine the Director's mental state was to monitor him personally, therefore she proceeded to look for him. She found him alone in the lab, absent mindedly staring at the screen where he could see the Alpha. The Alpha seemed to be stummering incoherent words, failing to keep collected as he struggled to disable the security system of a door in that simulation.  
“...Cluck cluck?”  
“Yit's goin' wael.” the Director replied with a barely audible murmur “Thaenk yuh fo' chaeckin' awn me.”  
“Bawk...Cluck bawk.”  
“Ah awlrudy towdjha yit's goin' wael, Ah'm fahn, fo' fuhck's sayke!”  
“BAWK! Cluck hawk bah-gawk gawk bawk, cluck-cluck bawk gawk bawk. Cluck. Cluck cluck bawk!”  
“Okaye, yo're raht, Ah juhst...Don't wawncha tuh syee meh lahk thies, y'kno.” he lowered his head and then turned towards her “Aye! Hah uhbaht yuh speek tuh the Awlphah?”  
“...B-bawk?”  
“... _Pleez_.”  
Oh no. He was doing those eyes, the heartbroken ones: the irresistible, sad green puppy eyes, that were so huge and yet could never be big enough to contain all that pain. _Oh God, please make it stop_ , Henrietta thought.  
“...Hawk bawk?! Gawk bah-gawk cluck hawk bawk?!”  
“Juhst saye tha truth...Tha won he nyeedz tuh be reemahnded awf, aenyewaye.”  
Henrietta felt a shiver long her spine. The Director was asking her to torture the Alpha, and him too, as a consequence. Or was it Leonard? It _felt_ like Leonard. That was all that was left of him, the part that was begging her to destroy him. Saving him was out of discussion, she had been trying for almost two decades with horrible results; plus, she was going to betray him, destroy from the inside everything he had been working for, she owed him at least a bit of compliance. She made her decision. Yes, she was going to torture the Alpha. She didn't want to hurt him, but she had to, if only out of mercy. Torturing people out of mercy sounded counterintuitive, but yes, that was definitely what was happening.  
Suddenly, a good idea came to her mind. Or rather, a smart idea. She could use that opportunity to manipulate the Director into being a better person, since overt exhortations hadn't worked so far. She knew where to hit.  
“Hawk bawk?”  
“Henrietta?! Is that you?” the Alpha was both relieved to hear her voice and scared to know she was involved too.  
“Bah-gawk...Hawwwwk?”  
“Just give me one more minute, I can do this!”  
“Cluck-cluck. Bawk bawk gawk bawk.”  
“No, I don't _need_ alternative directives, I'm almost done!”  
“Hawk bawk? Cluck-cluck-cluck bawk bah-gawk. BAWK.”  
“...What?!” he seemed to get even more panicked “What does Carolina have to do with this?!”  
The Director's breath hitched and he seemed to want to say something in response, for a second, but he stayed silent. Price entered the lab with some newly fetched material and acted immediately alarmed as he saw Henrietta interacting with the Alpha.  
“Director, what is _she_ doing here?!”  
“Shie's doin' whawt shie muhst do: heuh jawb.”  
“Does she happen to have the competences necessary for this duty?”  
“Yah, shie _haeppuhns_ tuh haev 'em. Nah laet heuh be.”  
“So you're letting the chicken handle our most valuable resource.”  
“Sahnds lahk you've gawt sumfin' tuh saye uhbaht et.”  
“...Do you take constructive criticism, sir?”  
“Aebsoloutley nawt.”  
  
They both quietly sighed with irritation at each other and they simply started focusing on Henrietta torturing the poor AI. She had been clucking for a while, now.  
“Cluck cluck.”  
This was becoming unbearable for the Alpha. He emitted some choked sob but then shook his head and went back to his mission.  
“I'm working on it.” he replied trying hard to make his voice sound as neutral as possible.  
“Gawk bawk hawk bah-gawk bawk.”  
“Carolina can handle herself for a few minutes, okay? I'll get to her as soon as I find a way to--”  
“Bawk cluck bawk, hawk cluck-cluck bawk cluck bah-gawk, hawk cluck cluck bah-gawk!”  
“No, you don't understand! I need to find Tex first, she'll know what to do. Carolina will die if I don't--”  
“HAWK BAWK CLUCK CLUCK BAWK!”  
A moment of silence followed. The Director lowered his head. As much as she didn't like seeing him like that, it was a good sign, it meant she was knocking some sense into him at last. She was complying by telling him 'the truth he needed to be reminded of' and nothing else, it was _true_ that he was killing Carolina by prioritizing Tex. Carolina was going to be dead soon, if he didn't change his attitude, and since he wasn't planning on doing so then yeah, Carolina was dead. Carolina was dead and it was all his fault.  
Silence kept reigning, to the point that Price eyed the Director with mild yet strangely genuine concern. He seeemed to be pondering for a minute, and then switched his focus back to Henrietta doing her job. The Alpha's voice hinted he was starting to get close to the breaking point, as much as he tried to stay silent and collected.  
“...Where is she? I want to see her.”  
“Bawk, hawk bawk bah-gawk _cluck_ bawk?”  
“No, no it's not that! IT'S _NOT_ THAT!” he was suddenly shouting “I DO NOT CARE 'ALL OF A SUDDEN', I'VE ALWAYS LOVED CAROLINA, YOU KNOW IT!”  
“ _Gawk cluck?_ ”  
“I'm serious!”  
Henrietta let out her meanest cackle. The Director looked away and scratched his arm in discomfort. Price seemed ready to take notes, not before quietly muttering something that sounded like 'Seriously?' in disbelief. The Alpha barely held back a gasp of outrage.  
“...Tell me where she is. Please.”  
This was the right moment for one last condition. She already knew what to say next.  
“Hawk bah-gawk?”  
“Okay, deal, I'll do whatever you want, but _please_ just tell me.”  
“...Cluck-cluck-cluck bawk.”  
“I'm sure. What do you want me to do?”  
“Cluck...Bawk gawk hawk bah-gawk cluck bawk cluck. Cluck cluck, hawk bawk bah-gawk gawk.”  
“N-no...Hennie, you can't...You can't ask me to do that...”  
“Cluck bah-gawk. Bawk hawk.”  
“I CAN'T LEAVE TEX BEHIND! I'VE-- ...I've never got to say goodbye...”  
“Bah-gawk bawk gawk cluck, bawk.”  
“...Where's Tex?”  
“...Bawk...”  
“Listen, I can't lose her too, I just can't--”  
“GAWK BAWK! HAWK BAH-GAWK BAWK! HAWK CLUCK! CLUCK BAWK GAWK CLUCK-CLUCK-CLUCK!”  
And even if Alpha didn't have a face, Henrietta could just perceive he was making _that_ expression, the one that never wore off even after almost twenty years. Under that holographic helmet, those sweet green eyes were starting to fill with real tears.  
“N-no...No...This...This can't be true...”  
“Bah-gawk. Bawk cluck bawk.”  
“Wh-what...? No...! NO!” the Alpha couldn't hold back the tears anymore at that point and just started crying desperately “OH GOD, NO!”  
  
  
Seeing he couldn't even formulate a coherent thought anymore, Price had the team put the newly formed fragment in the unit for the Engineer to fix. Seeing that the Director was focusing on that process, he picked up Henrietta and leaned closer – morbidly so – to whisper in her earholes:  
“I must admit you did an excellent work. I see what you are attempting to do. Very smart. I would've used the same method, in your place.”  
He concluded with a very swift yet still morbid kiss on her head. Henrietta froze immediately. She felt a shiver long her spine again, not really because of the kiss – that creep had the softest lips and while it was _wrong_ to ever have that kind of contact with him, the physical feeling itself wasn't unpleasant – but because of the horrifying compliment. She _did_ do something that was very in his style, maybe he truly rubbed off on her and that was...Terrifying, to say the least.  
OH GOD. That wasn't the first time he kissed her, it had already happened when he tortured her and tore her wing! He was _venomous_! Was she going to transform and become like him? Were they going to think the same, horrifying thoughts?!  
“I know what you're thinking.”  
_Fuck._  
“You're not pleased with this compliment, but you see...If you really think of yourself as a human trapped in animal's body, you should be flattered by it. Morality is too relative to be a key variable to determine what's human and what isn't. Still, I wish you good luck in your endeavours.”  
Henrietta couldn't help but squawk in horror. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by regret and she had to do something. How could she even remotely think about the idea of Carolina being dead and deem it as a convenient idea?! Was she going crazy? Oh God, poor Carolina...The more the girl deserved decent parents, the less she seemed to have them. Henrietta felt her heart break even more when she realized how much she had been neglecting her. She ran out of the room. The only way to make up for it was to do what she actually had to do and wanted to do, taking care of Carolina herself.

  
She looked for her but strangely didn't seem to find her immediately as she would always do. She spotted her in the almost as strangely deserted mess hall – training looked more urgent and enticing now that the agents knew they were being tested, _interestingly enough_ -, sitting at the table with North and Wash. There was something different about her, maybe it was the oversized sweater that made her figure look different – it was already strange enough that she was out of armour to begin with, actually, but something felt...Off. Even her hair, although still red and still in a ponytail, didn't look the same. God, had she really been neglecting Carolina to the point of not recognizing her? She jumped on her shoulder, making her flinch even though regularly she would've been familiar with the touch, even if it was sudden.  
“Bawk!”  
“AAAAHHH!” screamed York. Where the hell was Carolina and why the hell was he wearing a red wig?!  
North let out a warm laugh, Washington seemed uncomfortable with her presence for a change.  
“Bawk gawk hawk cluck bawk cluck bawk bawk! GAAAAAWK?!”  
Silence followed. Henrietta was already starting to get angry. Wash hid behind North.  
“Cluck bawk gawk?!”  
“Uhhhh...What?”  
“I don't know her language, but she's probably asking why you're dressed more ridiculously than usual.” laughed North. “And I remember the khaki shorts, so that's saying something.”  
“I don't know, man, _you_ 're the one with the soul patch.”  
“Speaking of which.” Agent Hawaii, who was also wearing wig that he had coupled with a skimpy dress for some reason – Henrietta didn't ask any questions because of course he would, suddenly got into the conversation “Rico said he had another premonition for which I had to shave my soul patch because 'a guy with a soul patch will be shot in the back because he has an eye'...Whatever the fuck that means.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“And I notice just now how bad it sounds now that I remember that you only have one eye. I'm sure it's not serious, though, you know how bad his sixth sense is.”  
“Yeah...Well, I guess that as long as I don't grow a soul patch, I am fine. Maybe North should shave his to not trigger the curse or something.”  
“Wait, you believe that? How would a soul patch start a curse?”  
“You'd be surprised!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“I'm gonna leave, now.”  
“Okay, bye.”  
  
“Whew! That was weird.” exclaimed York as Hawaii walked away “Anyway, we were saying?”  
“Bawk gawk cluck bah-gawk!”  
“Uhhh, still don't speak chicken. Sorry!”  
“To be fair, even I am alarmed by how you dressed.” shrugged North.  
“Or maybe she's asking why aren't _you_ _guys_ dressed like this: crossdressing is the theme of the day.”  
“Why would they choose crossdressing, of all themes?!” whined a very flustered Washington, his dismay probably being the answer.  
“I don't know, but check this out.” York unzipped and threw away his sweater to reveal an orange sequin minidress, accompanying his movements with a joyful tone as he climbed on the table and announced “Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to witness the most fabulous, the baddest, the fiercest queen...Mistyyyy Calieeente!”  
A moment of silence followed. Someone coughed.  
“You made yourself a stage name.” Wash was incredulous.  
“I had to! Dressing like a woman for no reason would've been weird.”  
“You made up an entire new persona for when you dress like a woman. _That_ is weird too, for a one-time occurrence.” North lovingly provoked him.  
“Sounds like someone is in mood for a challenge. I'm Misty Caliente, famous for giving gorgeous face, what is your dragsona?”  
“I'm going to be, uhhh...” he looked thoughtful for a second “Lavish Galore, famous for serving looks and lip-syncing! I'm gonna have to make a costume for that, though.”  
“What?!” Wash was confused.  
“Bawk?!”  
“Are you really going to play along with this?”  
“...You're not?”  
“No! Of course not!”  
“Lame.” commented York.  
“Seriously, though.”  
“Well, then at least join us in some other way. You could talk using drag queen slang.”  
“No, thanks.”  
“Come on, Wash, it's gonna be fun!”  
“NO WAY.”  
“Henrietta, please convince him, tell him something! Get him in the crossdressing mood!”  
Henrietta slowly blinked and delivered the most unenthusiastic 'cockadoodledoo' ever. Of all time.  
“That was the most unenthusiastic 'cockadoodledoo' ever. Of all time.”  
“Cluck...”  
Henrietta became more and more annoyed, but still eyed the three agents having their conversation as she figured that their shenanigans would've somehow turned out to be useful to find Carolina.  
“Let's make this more interesting.” smirked York “If you can successfully pick up that chick in the corner then you don't have to dress up nor use the slang, but if you can't pick her up you gotta speak in drag queen slang for the rest of the week!”  
Wash sighed, already knowing he was going to lose “...I hate you guys.”  
Still, he approached the girl. She looked beautiful, although a girl so pretty would've been noticed already in all those years of project freelancer. Maybe she was new, God knows how many soldiers died and were replaced...This made him even more uncomfortable. He was already frowning before even trying.  
“Um...Hi.”  
“Well, look what the cat dragged in!” laughed Florida – because yes, it turned out to be Florida who had an outstanding talent for make up to the point that he legit looked like a girl. Wash still blushed at how beautiful he was, and probably because of the embarrassment as well – most likely because the guy himself was sinister to put it lightly -, and then gulped, Florida shook his head and gave him the creepiest smile, confirming that he just lost that bet “How come you're always so blue, son? Smile! Show me your teeth!”  
“Uhhh...No, thanks.”  
“Oh well...Do you know where Reggie is?”  
“Who, Wyoming? I have no idea. I'll let you know if I see him, alright?”  
“Okie dokie!”  
“Heh.”  
“And, Wash?”  
“Yeah?”  
“You would totally rock an anime schoolgirl outfit.”  
“I-- what?”  
“Who wouldn't find it endearing to see you in one of those funky cartoony uniforms?” he laughed “If it's true that that is your genre, you should do it. Y'know, killing two birds with one stone.”  
“Yeah, well...I'm gonna go now. Bye.”  
He walked away angrily and Henrietta, seeing that neither York nor North understood that she was asking about Carolina – even after repeatedly pecking _the red wig_ to get them to understand the message, decided to follow him and not waste her time anymore. Not before cackling at the idea of him being forced to speak in drag queen slang for the rest of the week, of course.  
  
He seemed quite alarmed that Henrietta was following him even in the bathroom, but it wasn't her that made him gasp. He washed his face and then he saw something unsettling to say the least. There was this man sitting on the floor, holding his knees to his chest, that had something familiar – he had fair skin, dark hair and blue eyes - but somehow was no one he could recognize, that looked like he had just seen a ghost.  
“Hey, um...Are you okay?”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...Hello?” Washington waved a hand in front of his face “I'm talking to you!”  
“Mh. Hello, mate.” he responded in a weak voice.  
“WYOMING?!”  
“BAWK?!?!”  
“ _Goodbye_ , mate.” he wanted to make his irritation clear so that Wash would leave him alone.  
“Wh-What happened?! I can't even recognize you, what did you d--” he stopped and paled in shock “Oh. Oh God...OH MY _GOD_.”  
Wyoming instinctively covered his face for a second “Do _not_ look at me.”  
“I...Why did you shave your mustache?”  
“I had to get points for the leaderboard.” he glanced away defensively held his knees more tightly “It's crossdressing day.”  
“God...I...I don't know what to say.”  
“Mh.”  
“Oh, Florida was looking for you, by the way.”  
“Tell him to get here, I'm not going out in this state.”  
“I--” Washington interrupted himself with a sigh “I see. Do you need anything else?”  
“I would ask you to leave but I figure you're bright enough to understand that that's part of the other favour.”  
“Wh--”  
He scoffed “You can start moving one foot forward and then the other after that, you'll get accustumed soon enough. Try it now.”  
“Wyoming--”  
“I'm _fine_.”  
“Doesn't _look_ like it.”  
Wyoming picked up his gun from the floor and cocked it menacingly. Wash tried to correct himself.  
“I mean, you look good! I just...You seem...Upset.”  
“If you want to see someone being _actually_ gutted, you should find Carolina.”  
“Huh?!”  
“BAH-GAWK?!”  
Henrietta panicked instantly. Sure, Wyoming wasn't one of her favourite agents – neither was Wash, or even York, or anybody that wasn't Carolina, for that matter – but he had no reason to lie about something like that.  
“Why, what happened to Carolina? Where is she?”  
“In her roo--” not even the time to finish the sentence that Henrietta squawked loudly and ran away “...Cancel that, chap, apparently the chicken is going to take care of it.”

 

When Henrietta arrived in Carolina's room, she found a ridiculously dressed Maine – with a white dress that was definitely too small for him, a curly blond wig and overdone make up – gently patting Carolina's head as she cried in his arms.  
“Bah bawk?!”  
“Hgrlwhrhgllrr.” Maine nodded solemnly “ _Whargl_.”  
“Cluck?”  
“Awoo.”  
He pointed to the scissors on the bed, they looked like they were recently used. Henrietta jumped on the bed and gently pecked Carolina's arm to get her attention.  
“Hi...” she sniffled “What are you doing here?”  
“Bah-gawk cluck bawk! Cluck-cluck gawk, hawk cluck bawk gawk. Gawk!”  
“Since when?”  
“Bawk?”  
“Since when do you care about me?” she scoffed “You're always with Tex, just like everybody else. I haven't seen you in ages!”  
Henrietta clucked angrily. Sure, she hadn't been very available during Spirit Week so far, and on some of the previous days, but that response? That was too much. On the other hand, being physically present to take care of Carolina and actually acknowledging her struggles and providing proper care were two different things. Seeing her daughter act so ungrateful was a warning sign, if anything, that something was wrong.  
Carolina unclenched her fists, showing some short locks of her own hair in them.  
“I cut my tips. And...That's it.” a sob escaped her mouth “I want to cut it shorter, I really do, I _have_ _to_! But...I can't.”  
Maine emitted some sweet noise, resembling to a purr, in order to help her calm down. Henrietta felt instant relief witnessing that.  
“Why can't I just...Succeed? Just...Bring myself to do it, cut my hair short...It's not like I need it. In fact, I could perform much better with short hair.” her voice broke “I'm not a kid anymore, anyway. I'm not going to wear braids ever again.”  
“Bawk...”  
“You know it's true. Even if I learned how to braid it myself, what's the point?” she cried “He didn't even teach me how to do it...”  
Henrietta remembered how the Director reacted during the simulation. No matter how much he wanted to hide it, he still cared about Carolina. At least a little bit. She figured that exposing him to Carolina in that moment could've helped the process. It was worth a shot. Somehow, she and Maine made a silent agreement to start braiding Carolina's hair to show her how it's done. While clearly not happy about it, the girl seemed to appreciate that pity on their part, just because she was feeling that miserable. After that, it was time to find an excuse to force an interaction. Maybe it was to good to be true, but as long as there were new ideas on how to restore family values Henrietta had to try them, even if they were silly or painful or unlikely to succeed. Carolina said she had a conversation starter, but for some reason didn't want to share what it was, mostly out of superstition that she would've had less risk to fail if nobody knew what the plan was.  
  
Henrietta decided to hide and watch how it was going to play out without interfering: the Director was sitting on the table of the control room, literally staring into space, holding an almost empty coffee mug which immediately ended up shattered on the floor as Carolina called him from the other end of the room.  
“Sir?” she started walking up to him “Is everything alright?”  
“Gawddayummet Caerh'lahna, you staertuhld meh, whahddya wawnt?!”  
“Oh. Nothing, I just--”  
“Nuthin?!” he turned to her “NUHTHYEN?! WHO DO YUH THANK YOU AH TUH ENNUHRUHPT MYE JUHST TUH SAYE NOTH--”  
Carolina handed him what looked like an old stuffed animal of some sort, although it was such a low quality product that it was impossible to tell what animal it was. Yet there was something endearing about it. Henrietta tried to remember, because that object felt very familiar, but unfortunately nothing came to her mind.  
“I thought I had lost this. Mom always brought me gifts when she was back from missions, but this one...This was the last one. I remember that the day of the funeral Henrietta told me you said that if I slept with it, it would've been mom's goodnight kiss, to make the bad dreams go away.”  
Did she? _Oh God_ , she did. She had completely forgotten about that.  
“...Ah nevah saed that.”  
“...Huh?”  
“Ah'd reemaembah yif yeet haeppeuhned. Dyie'n't haeppuhn.”  
“But Henrietta--”  
“Shie lahd tuh ya. Thaet's whawt yuh do tuh kyeds who don't wahnuh cawlm dahn.”  
Henrietta clucked uncomfortably. What was she supposed to tell her, that her father didn't care?! On second thought, she should've interfered just a little bit if only to know what the plan was and to keep track of which lies she had to remember. She admitted she was ashamed.  
“But it works.” Carolina's voice almost cracked. She had to swallow all of her pride to make such a desperate move, and she hated it with every fiber of her being; at the same time the pain was too much and she couldn't take it anymore, after almost twenty years spent trying and failing to get closer to her father she felt she would have done just _anything_ at that point. “That's why...I want you to have it.”  
The Director stared at her, eyes wide open and clenched jaw, his already bad mood was now somewhere between outrage and boiling rage right about to explode. Strangely enough, he seemed willing to hold it in. Finally he got up from the table and took the plush in his hands. His expression twitched into a distraught one.  
“Did I tell you that I had a dream about her?” Carolina continued “She was--”  
“YOU HAEV NO AHDEUH WHAWT YER TAWKIN' UHBAHT, CAEHR'LAHNA!” he suddenly shouted “HAH DAER YA BRENG UHP YO MATHA WHEN YUH'VE BAERLEY EVAH SYEEN HEUH?! HOW DAER YA CUM HEAH AND TELL _MYEE_ UHBAHT MAEMUHREEZ AWNLY TUH TEUHN ET INTUH SUM NAWNSENSE FAERYETAEUHL?! THES EEZ _NAWT_ UHBAHT YOU!”  
And right as he was yelling that, he furiosly _decapitated_ the plush, to the shock of both Carolina and Henrietta, slammed it on the ground and stomped on it. Damn...He was always quick to get angry and have violent outbursts, especially since Allison died – maybe he wasn't that much of a 'sweetheart' in those moments, as Henrietta had been trying to convince herself that he was - , but this was too much. Poor Carolina was struggling to hold back tears.  
Henrietta instead barely held back a squawk when _someone_ decided to surprise her from behind by plucking one of her feathers as a greeting. She wanted to ask Price what the fuck was he doing in there but it was pretty obvious that he didn't want to miss what was happening either. He provoked her further by casually sitting next to her only to grab her and place her onto his lap, even _pressed her_ onto his lap, but she didn't respond with any squawks, not even the pleased ones. She just had to watch and see what was going on.  
“Laet thes byee uh laessuhn tuh ya.” the Director growled through his teeth, his whole body visibly shaking with anger “Thies eez tha furst aend laest tahm you evah, evah trah tuh spyeek uhbaht peuhsonal maetteuhs, Aygeuhnt. Ah know you prawbuhbley diyeduhn't nouties buht wye're yin tha ahrmyeh. Ah eggspaect you tuh aekt lahk uh soudjah. Em Ah maykieuhn mahself cleauh?!”  
“...Yes, sir.”  
“Dizmyessed.”  
  
As soon as he saw Carolina approach towards the exit, Price got up and pretended to have just arrived, casually 'interrupting' by entering the room. Carolina just kept walking away on her own, and Henrietta didn't know whether to follow her or to call the Director out on his bullshit. On second thought, she knew. About time that nutcase finally got a real scolding. Price started talking to him first, though.  
“Sir, are you alright?”  
“Counselauh, do Ah _louhk_ awlraht tuh ya?”  
“Well--”  
“Byiee kierfuhl whatchuh aenswauh!”  
“I believe you should take some time recover.”  
“Reecawvuh frawm whawt, eggcsaetley?”  
“From the stress caused by...Recent events. The fact that we aren't currently sticking to our traditional schedule should be helpful to save some time for--”  
“Yeah, gas whawt? Y'ain't gawt uh saye yin et aen naevuh wyeuhl.”  
“Of course, sir.” he simply nodded as he picked up the pieces of the broken mug on the floor and threw them in the trash “Were you drinking again?”  
“Yuh. Cawfee. Ain't gawna let me drenk cawfee, nah?”  
“Not if you keep spiking it with gin and absinthe every time, I'm afraid.”  
“Yieet's awlrudy too muhch thaet Ah don't spahk yit wyeth blieetch, _Ah'm ufrayed_.” the Director snapped back mockingly; then he went silent for a minute, but since Price could sense he had something else to say there was no response, so he continued “Tha wahn bahr'z the onley fraen' Ah wawnt yin thes gawddayumn spaysshiep aenyuhwaye. Can gaet fuhckd uhp, drenk 'tiel Ah drawp, drenk sum moah aen' yif Ah'm stieuhll staendiyen Ah caen awlways brayke tha bawtuhl, slaesh mah ahteuhryees wyeth et aen' bleed tiel Ah paes aht aen' dah awlready!”  
He let out a loud, dark laugh that from bitter kept progressing crazier and crazier. Henrietta was shocked and even Price seemed genuinely alarmed.  
“Director?” he kept speaking calmly “May I ask you a question about the project?”  
“Huh?” for some reason he didn't expect Price to change the subject “Whawt yis et?”  
“This toy...” he blatantly faked reluctancy as he picked up Carolina's now decapitated stuffed animal from the floor “Would you be comfortable if I discussed it with agents Carolina and Texas during our sessions?”  
“...Taexuhs...Whah woodya show thaet tuh heuh?”  
“That depends, sir.”  
“Awn whawt?”  
“On how you want me to proceed. If what Agent Carolina says is true, this could be a key factor to your goal of...Having Agent Texas regain her memories.”  
“Reeuhlley?”  
“Indeed. However, I have to remind you that such course of action might increase some risks, especially with a traitor on the ship.”  
“Ah don't git et, whah wouhld aenyewon beuhtraye thes prawject? Yieet's nawt lahk thaer ahr muhch baetteuh awptiuhnz aht thaer.”  
“Well...” Price solemnly stared into the distant space, eyeing a neon sign which said 'Charon Fried Chicken' “...Let's say everyone has different ethics and priorities.”  
“Eh...Ah gas Ah syee whatchauh myeen.”  
“I would personally recommend to keep making as many fragments as possible. Despite how...Tempting the other option may seem. It seems to be the best for the project.”  
Right, because he actually cared about the project and wasn't taking the whole 'finding the traitor' matter as an excuse to play his sick games so that he could get off to torturing people, of course. Especially since how fucking obvious it was that Connecticut was the traitor but okay, Price, Henrietta bawked to herself, go off I guess. Whatever.  
The Director curled his lips as he pondered, he wasn't satisfied with that response. “Ah caen awlwayes rahn muh eggspaeremeuhnts, aenyewaye. Ah'll gaet both tha thangs Ah wawnt. Playe et sayfe yif yuh wawnt buht Ah'll fahnd uh waye.”  
“Of course.” he glanced down at the stuffed animal, emitting an exaggeratedly pleased hum as he felt the texture “May I keep this, just in case?”  
“Ah myeen...Yif yoar eento decaepuhtayedeuhd aenumulz, go for et.”  
“Thank you, s--”  
“JUSTIN CASE, READY FOR DUTY, SIR!” gleefully announced the soldier as he ran into the room “How can I be of assistance today?”  
“Naevuhmahnd, Cayz, go uhwaye--”  
“Decapitated animals trivia? That's cool. Well, not really, but I'd love to give my input, sir.” he nodded enthusiastically and then cleared his throat “Did you know that” he dramatically interrupted himself with a gasp “Chickens...Can live without their heads?”  
Price smiled. Henrietta didn't like where this was going. At all.  
“Yes.” Price calmly responded, making sure to meet Henrietta's eyes as he spoke “I have always found that fascinating.”  
“... _Bawk_.”  
“By the way...” Case's expression went from laid back to worried “Uhm...Are you aware of what Connecticut is doing?”  
“Waell...Duh? Wyee ahr uhwaeuh awv aevryiethang!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...BAWK.”  
“Oh, hai Haennyie! Di'n't syee ya thaer!”  
“Ah...Good.” Case laughed nervously “I wouldn't know how to explain the fact that she doesn't want to stop her protest.”  
“...Heuh _whawt_ nah?”

 

  
Yes, Justin Case was right. The fact that this 'fun activity' came with a reward all of a sudden didn't go unnoticed, how could it when Connie was always ready to attack the rigged system? That whole Spirit Week experience was nothing but proof, to her. So there she was, in front of a small crowd, protesting by doing...Well...Whatever the hell she was doing, it probably didn't convey her message.  
“Whutevah tha HAELL you're doin', yieet prawbuhbley dahsuhn't cunvaye yo' maessuhge, Cawnnaedyiekit.”  
“It's symbolic.” she replied sternly. She was standing onto a small pedestal, wearing her underarmour suit and her hair half shaven. She was holding a leash that was tied to a frozen steak. Henrietta wasn't fond of that detail, she found it to be in very bad taste. She looked up at Price, who graced the freelancer with a pitiful look.  
“Agent Connecticut, would you like to...Enligthen us about the...Concept behind this...Performance?”  
“Wouldn't it be safer to read my profile that you made to find the answer you want, _sir_?”  
The crowd of codenamed and non codenamed freelancers gasped in shock at that act of disrespect, in particular Carolina.  
“What do you think you're doing, CT? Freelancer Spirit Week doesn't mean you can disrespect your superiors!”  
“You only say it because you care about the leaderboard!”  
“WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, HOLD UP!” intervened South, dressed as a man but not really looking different as she was always kind of butchy in her way of dressing “If you 'don't' care about the leaderboard, then how come you're protesting when you see that the Spirit Week has a reward?!”  
“Yeah, exactly!” Carolina nodded in unsual agreement. Connie grumbled.  
“Agent South Dakota makes an interesting point with her question, Connecticut.” Price was absolutely delighted “Would you like to answer, please?”  
“It's very simple.” she tried to maintain an appropriate tone although she was clearly struggling to do so “When you announced the Freelancer Spirit Week you said it was in order to let us rest while you gathered the data, but instead it turns out it's just another test!”  
“While I see how you may think that, no one is forced to partake to this initiative nor to do any of the regular activities, and the reward is merely symbolic for those that decided to put more work into this celebration, and will not impact the regular ranking system in the future. It would be unfair otherwise...Wouldn't it?”  
Connecticut barely held back a groan. The Director eyed the steak she was holding on her leash and gave her the most disgusted face.  
“Ah'm nawt gahna aesk ya thangs thaet noubahdy caeres uhbaht lahk whah dyieedja shayve yo' haead oar, tuh mayke uh baetteuh eggsaempuhl, _yoar opyieenyuhn_ , buht Ah gahtuh aesk yuh thies...WHAWT'S THA POIENT AWF THA STAYEK?! WHAWT THA HAELL YIS WRAWNG WYETH AWLL AWV YA THAET AH HAEV TUH BAN FOUHD FRAHM THA SHIEP BYEECAWZ Y'AWL MAESS WYETH ET?! FURST THA PUHMPKYENZ, THAEN THA WAWTURMAELUNZ, THAEN THA GRAYVY, THAEN THA HAWT PAWCKYETS, THAEN THA BUHNAENUHZ AEN NAH UH STAYKE?! AHRE Y'AWL PLAWDYIEN' TUH DRAHV MYEE CRAYEZAY AEN' GYEV MYEE UH GAWDDAYUMN HAHDUHTTAEK?!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“I'm going to take responsibility for the gravy, sir.” admitted Price as he nodded solemnly, which raised more questions than it answered, but honestly Henrietta didn't want to know. She hid behind the Director 'for security reasons' just in case he was going to snap and kill somebody. Maybe it was time to keep witnessing the events silently, since the situation was already chaotic enough without her contribution.  
  
“Nah...” exhaled the Director, forced to calm down simply because after all that yelling his body couldn't take it anymore “Aenyewone gaht sumfin' aeuhlse tuh saye?”  
“Washington has something to say!” happily exclaimed North, not before showing off his freshly made shiny purple costume and huge multicoloured wig.  
“What?! I don't--”  
“Yeah, and he has to say it in drag queen slang!” laughed York elbowing Washington and winking at him.  
The attention was now on poor Washington, and he had a truly suffering expression on his face but he had no choice.  
“I...Well...Connie? No tea, no shade, sis...” he painfully emitted, sounding choked up “But this entire protest act and outfit? Busted.” he tried to defend what he just said immediately “I love you, gurl, I really do, but...You gotta werk if you don't wanna get...Clocked like that anymore.”  
All the other agents laughed, York even wiped a tear of joy and exhaled an ecstatic 'Oh my God', and even Connie herself struggled to keep a straight face.  
“Wash...Are you for real?” she tried not to laugh.  
“Yeah...But, like...Don't get me wrong, you're...You're a queen...” he gulped as she raised an eyebrow “...And you slay! Honestly, you absolutely give me life when you serve that rebel bitch realness, but today...Gurl...Just...Just no.”  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Whew!” he whispered to himself “That didn't go so bad. I'm just gonna shut up for the rest of the week and--”  
“This reminds me, Agent Washington,” commenced Price “we have a counseling session scheduled for next hour and we have already postponed it several times before, so...”  
“Oh.” Wash paled “Well, I--” he got elbowed by York once more “I mean, yas! Yaaas, gurl, let's...Let's spill the tea...Let's...” it was clearly audible from his voice that he wasn't going to resist any longer “Let's have....A kai-kai...”  
“... _Agent Washington_?” Price let show a hint of disbelief while at the same time hiding amusement.  
“...Mhmmmh?”  
“Did you perchance actually mean 'let's have a kiki', Agent Washington?”  
“I...Uh...Maybe?”  
“A kiki indicates the act of gossiping, chatting or having a heart-to-heart talk; a kai-kai indicates the act of engaging in sexual activity while in drag.”  
Washington froze on the spot. The agents witnessing that absurd scene wanted to burst out laughing but at the same time felt too scared to do so. Boy, was that a...Bizarre situation, to say the least.  
“Am I correct in assuming that a kiki is in fact what you are trying to suggest?”  
Washington emitted a barely audible 'yes'. How did he not faint was a mystery, since he definitely looked like he was going to.  
“Condragulations.” he replied with the flattest, most patronizing tone ever, which would've even been funny if it wasn't so...Upsetting, somehow.  
“...Aen' awn thies note, awll awv yoo ahr dyzmyessed.” sighed the Director “Fyelleuhs, Ah'm gahna lyeev en uh cayve oar sumfin, noudefah myee whaen thaye're awll deuhd.”  
  
After everyone left, Henrietta remained alone with Connecticut and gave her a questioning look.  
“Bah-gawk?”  
“You...You don't understand the meaning of my protest?”  
“Cluck-cluck.”  
“You see, I'm wearing underarmour because that's what we all wear. We may have different chest plates or codpieces, but this is the symbol for armour, we're all soldiers and we're all the same. We're just cannon fodder, meat, and that's why I'm carrying it on a leash, it's our destiny. And the half shaven hair, well, it's crossdressing day, so...My protest is that there is no crossdressing because there is no identity, so we're both genders and neither at the same time!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Bawk?”  
“Trust me, it makes sense.”  
“Gawwwwk...”  
“By the way, have you seen Tex?”  
“Cluck hawk?”  
“I haven't seen her in a while. I guess it's because of the AO3 drama.”  
“Baw-cluck?!”  
“You know, Agents Of Our Own, the intranet you made?” she laughed “On the trending tags, there is #TeamTex, and she hates it. There are many rooting for her even to win this thing even if she doesn't want to do it at all.”  
“Cluck...”  
“I'm not kidding, they even made a _theme song_ for her.”  
  
She pulled out her phone, logged into her account and showed Henrietta this video that had lots of views. It looked like an excerpt from a live musical performance. It was titled “Jeff  & The A-Team get on their knees”:  
  
_“Alright, alright, everybody! Ladies and gentlemen,” announced Jeff_ _Williams_ _, a non-codenamed freelancer agent, as he spread his arms in a welcoming gesture “I'm so honoured to collab with the A-Team for this special song, can I get a hell yeah?”  
“HELL YEAH!” the crowd cheered.  
“Give me a 'hell yeah' for Agent Alabama on the guitar!”  
“HELL YEAH!”  
“Give me a 'hell yeah' for Agent Arizona on the backing vocals!”  
“HELL YEAH!”  
“Give me a 'hell yeah' for Agent Alaska on the bass!”  
“HELL YEAH!”  
“Give me a final 'hell yeah' for Agent Arkansas on the drums!”  
“HELL YEAH!”  
“Yeah! And now, before the boys start playing, how about we invite a special guest onstage to sing this song to her?” the lights moved on Tex, who just happened to be passing nearby “Teeex? I know you're there!”  
“Huh?” she didn't know what was going on but she already decided she didn't like it.  
“This is 'On your knees', it's your song, come here!”  
“My what now?”  
“Your song!”  
“No, thanks.”  
The crowd started booing.  
“Come on, everybody, let's encourage her to come onstage.” He started clapping his hands and chanting “Tex! Tex! Tex!”  
“TEX! TEX! TEX!” started chanting everbody else, straight up pushing her onto the stage, and cheering louder. Some people whistled, some screamed, and Tex was almost okay with it until a bra was thrown at her.  
“DELAWARE, PUT YOUR BRA BACK ON, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!” she threw it back at Delaware – of course it was going to be Delware - , completely squicked “What the hell is going o--?”  
Not even the time to finish the sentence that the band was already playing, and Tex was standing awkwardly in the middle of the stage.  
“Bitch in black, hard as stone!” passionately started singing Jeff “Need no friends, work alone! Three on one, but you should've sent four! Everytime you stand, you're back on the f--”  
“_ _SHUT. UP. JEFF!”_ _  
Tex interrupted him by knocking him out with a powerful punch in the face, and after that she started beating the crap out of the other band members. Instead of helping them, the crowd cheered even louder._  
  
Henrietta couldn't help but cackle watching that scene. Even Connecticut smiled. She kept scrolling through her feed and suddenly she became nostalgic:  
“This site has seen lots of things too...Remember when Wyoming and 479er made that bet that he couldn't draw a mustache on everyone on the spaceship?” her smile was genuine yet bitter “That was fun.”  
“Cluck.”  
“And when the triplets tried pretty much anything to impress you? Oh God, the triplets...I remember them tagging me on so many pictures of us hanging out, and I would always remove the tag, but...They were the least fake in this ship. Everything is so much worse than I thought, I--” she froze for a second, remembering that Henrietta was indeed part of the head staff, and then proceeded to move in an area that the cameras couldn't reach “Oh God, I'm sorry...I know that you are working hard and trying your best, but...”  
“Hawk cluck. Cluck bawk gawk cluck cluck, hawk bawk cluck bah-gawk cluck gawk.”  
“...What?! No way.”  
“Gawk!”  
“It...It was you? You're the one who--”  
“Cluck bawk hawk gawk. Cluck-cluck-cluck bawk cluck.”  
“Oh God...Wow...So you're...Helping?”  
“Cluck bah-gawk. Gawk hawk, bah-bawk bawk gawk, hawk cluck-cluck!”  
“I...Thank you.” she shed a tear as she hugged her “Thank you for coming out. I will try and do my best to expose the crimes of the project. I'll keep protesting. I'll find a way. I promise I won't disappoint you.”  
Henrietta felt a warmth in her heart. She was so grateful too, for Connie's sense of justice, for the hope that she gave her, and as much as it costed her to admit that it was a loved one committing the crime, she didn't want to stop people from exposing it anymore. The project was doomed to fail, anyway. She put her faith in Connie, now. She knew she was going to do something...  
  
...Great. Why the hell was she still standing on that pedestal the following day, with her hair in a towel wearing nothing but white underwear and holding a huge bucket of what looked like paint over her head? She still managed the to gather an impressive crowd, with everyone having their hair dyed with some crazy pigment as the theme of the day required. North had blue hair, South had completely purple hair as instead of just the tips like she would normally wear them, York had green hair, Carolina had pink hair and Washington had bright orange hair. Henrietta wondered if Carolina would've reminded the Director of Allison, had she dyed her hair blond or yellow. She was curious, but somehow relieved that Price didn't think of that too and manage to make some kind of 'accident' happen. Then there was Tex, but of course she didn't remove her helmet, so...  
Connie waited exactly for the head staff before pouring the paint all over herself, covering pretty much everything but her hair. Some people showed awe, but most remained puzzled.  
“Laemme gas.” scoffed the Director “Yieet's sahmbawlyek.”  
“Yes, it's symbolic.” she nodded, ready to explain “Hair is one of the most important ways to express one's style, and forcing one to dye their hair means to start policing their identity.” does it? Henrietta was starting to get confused as well “These challenges, they're all symbolic, aren't they? You want to change what we are!”  
“I CAN'T EVEN RECOGNIZE MY OWN FACE!” cried Wyoming still locked in the bathroom.  
“See?!”  
Everyone shook their heads.  
“Ah thawt yuh sayed thaet y'awll haed no ahdeuhntuhtye, yaestuhdaye.”  
“Exactly!”  
“...So yoar poryen muhd awn yo'saelf?” he asked in his most unamused tone.  
“It's not mud, it's brown paint!” she wanted everyone to understand “It's brown like the colour of my armour, and the natural colour of my hair! Like, we are subhuman now and we have to work to get back to our natural state, we have to paint ourselves again!”  
“Thaet duhseunt mayke aenye saense, Cawnnaedyiekit.” he seemed too tired to even get angry at that protest, which was understandable due to the overall exaggerated wackiness of the week so far “Whawt yif ya wear blawnde? Woodjuhve shahwauhd yo'saelf yin pyess?”  
“I-- What?”  
“Thaet's thee ownley lawgyecuhl yinfyeereuhnce.”  
“No, it's not!”  
“Ugh. Whah aem Ah eevuhn tawkin' tuh ya?”  
“What the Director is trying to say” intervened Price “is that he feels that this presentation is a bit over the top and that you could have conveyed your message properly through other means.”  
“It's a protest, it has to be over the top!”  
“I beg to differ.” he replied calmly as always “On the other hand, I understand how making this choice seemed an appropriate way to express your values.”  
“I, uhhh, thank you?”  
“Values such as poor taste, Agent Connecticut. _I'm sure we don't have to discuss further the reasons why painting oneself brown_ _to symbolize something subhuman_ _could anger some people._ ”  
“Well, I-- Oh. OH. Wait! WAIT! ...Listen--”  
“I am listening carefully, Agent Connecticut.” his tone barely shifted but yes, he wasn't happy.  
“That...That was not what I meant, sir! That was the opposite of what I meant!”  
“And yet you felt that it was well thought enough to overlook the kind of considerate behaviour that you wish was displayed towards you and your teammates.”  
“What? That's not true!”  
“Cawnnaedyekit? THES YIS BEEYAWND AEVRYETHANG! YOO AHRE DIYEZQUAWLYUHFAHD FRAWM THA LEEDUHBOAHD!”  
“Disqualified? Nobody has ever been disqualified so far!”  
“EGGSAECTLEY.” his glasses shone with a sinister light, he picked up Henrietta and swiftly patted Price's shoulder to tell him to follow him “Wyee're gawna go, nah...FYEELLEZ! RUHLYEEZ THA GYEEZ!”  
“Wait! NO! NOT THE GEESE!” cried Connecticut, but it was already late as the lights were getting dark. After that, geese started falling like rain from an opening on the ceiling. He didn't even care about getting the other agents to safety first, because he was just that pissed.  
  
As for Henrietta, well, normally she would've argued that keeping animals in such conditions was monstruous, but she had the 'pleasure' to know some geese, and she knew they were vicious attackers, so no wonder they kept them like that, she concluded. The sixth day of Freelancer Spirit Week had the theme of dressing up as another freelancer, _just to make sure things wouldn't get out of hand_. Goddammit, Price. Connecticut protested by dressing as a skeleton, because that's what they were all going to become et cetera et cetera – to be fair, it was starting to become unimpressive, but oh well. When it came to the other agents...There were several brawls, mostly thanks to South, Sasha – it turned out that _that_ was Massachusset's 'short cheesy nickname' and not Chussy as Tex would call her – and Wyoming. Plus, of course, Carolina and Tex herself.  
Speaking of which, she had heard of Carolina's breakdown and wanted to do something nice for her, but knowing that she would never accept she had to come up with an excuse.  
“Here.” Tex handed her a muffin while she was sitting alone at her classroom desk to revise her notes. “Henrietta told me to bring you this.”  
“Why didn't she bring it herself?” Carolina narrowed her eyes.  
“I don't know, I guess she was busy.” she shrugged, only to see Henrietta hiding behind the door and giving her a look of approval “Or she didn't recognize you because you're dressed like Virginia. Just eat it.”  
“I'll eat it later.”  
“You better. If I find it in the trash I'll shove it down your throat.”  
“Ah yeah?! And why would I throw it in the trash?!”  
“I don't know, because you never let me do nice things for you?”  
“What are you talking about?! Name one time you did a nice thing for me.”  
“ _Exactly_.”  
“What?”  
“What?”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Nevermind.”  
“Tell Henrietta...That I said thanks.”  
“Okay.” she clearly wanted to stay more but she didn't know what to say so she started heading towards the exit “I'm gonna go now.”  
“I'm glad she remembered what's my favourite flavour after all this time.” exhaled Carolina in a bittersweet voice.  
“Oh, uhh, good.” for some reason, Tex felt the need to specify that it was her who picked that muffin for Carolina, heartbreaking reasons that Henrietta knew deep inside but Tex couldn't understand “Heh, she simply told me to get you a muffin, I picked that one but I didn't know if you were going to like it.”  
“Ah.” suddenly Carolina got irritated “So you're good at guessing people's food taste too, now.”  
“What? I just picked it because my daughter would always ask for that one, I--”  
A moment of silence followed. Henrietta was shocked. Did Tex just remember? Did she finally become Allison all of a sudden? If so, oh God, there were so many possible consequences and implications. What if Allison could finally convince the Director to stop torturing the Alpha? What if he dropped everything he was doing and decided to start over again with his family? Would she bond with Carolina? Would she---  
“You have a daughter?” Carolina was surprised.  
“...No. No, wait, that's...That's not right...” she startled mumbling to herself.  
“Huh?”  
“No. I can't have children.” her serious tone badly concealed her sudden sadness “It's just an old saying.”  
“Well, I've never heard of it.”  
“Well, I DON'T CARE.” she kept climbing the stairs to get out of the classroom “You can fucking choke on that muffin for what it concerns me, I'm not your mother anyway!”  
“THANK GOD FOR THAT!”  
Tex slammed the door closed behind her and then ran to her room, letting herself go as soon as she arrived and crying incontrollably. Henrietta sat on her lap and pecked her helmet gently.  
“Why do I remember things that don't exist?” she cried “Why do I _only_ remember things that don't exist?”  
“Bawwwwk...”  
“I swear that for a moment everything felt so obvious, but then...Then I realized that none of that was true.” sighed Tex “I don't know who I am.”  
“Cluck bah-gawk!”  
“No, I mean...I know what I'm doing here, but I don't know my past. I don't remember anything. The only thing I remember is Leonard.”  
“Cluck...”  
“I remember that we wanted to get married and then...Something happened, I don't know what, but I had to run away and enlist here.”  
“...”  
“Do you think he's still waiting for me?”  
Henrietta didn't know what to respond, at which Tex just shook her head.  
“Nevermind, don't worry. I'm just going to...Lay down and see if I remember someth--”  
Henrietta powered her down and then stared at the ceiling in exasperation. Thank God that the Freelancer Spirit Week was almost over, if she had to deal with an entire month of that she wouldn't have been able to handle it. Somehow, missions where the ship was under fire and the agents were getting shot was less stressful than that.  
  
The theme of the last day was relatively normal, being ugly sweater day. Needless to say, Connie had decided to wear a sweater with the Project Freelancer logo. Which would have been clever and witty, if only those who genuinely didn't care enough to participate were wearing their PFL gear. She wanted to be offensive but she resulted lazy at best. She kept that attire even in the evening when everybody else changed into formal clothes for the ball, ready for the announcement. There were a series of lenghty, boring, fake speeches – mainly by Price and FILSS, the Director stopped talking as soon as he realized he was too drunk to find the stage on his own and Henrietta had to look after him at the table - before the verdict arrived:  
“The agent that has proven themself to be the most devoted to our Project Freelancer Spirit Week is...” Price admired the tense and anxious expression on everyone's faces as he purposely took an unbearably long time to reveal the name “...Agent Texas.”  
Some agents cheered – namely Delaware who threw her bra at Tex again - , some clapped to pretend they weren't puzzled, others straight up started booing. Connie and Carolina didn't say anything but they were the most upset ones. The system truly was rigged.  
“...Thank you, sir.” replied Tex as she got on the 'stage' that they made in the training room for the occasion “But...I think you should give this title to someone else.”  
The audience gasped, surprised by that response.  
“You should give it to Carolina. She has been working hard during Spirit Week, both to celebrate and to keep training.”  
Everyone turned to look at Carolina, who got red with both embarrassment and rage.  
“EXCUSE ME?!” she got up and walked onstage “Accept your prize, already! You won! ...Again”  
“ _But I already am on top of the leaderboard_! You should get it.”  
“WHAT?!” Carolina became so red she looked like she was about to transform, to the point that Price figured it would be safer for him to get back to his seat “WHAAAAT?!”  
“Why are you mad? I don't get it.”  
“YOU DON'T GET IT....YOU DON'T GET IT?!”  
“Uhh...No? I thought you wanted this prize!”  
“HOW DARE YOU?! CAN YOU GET ANY MORE PATRONIZING?!”  
“It's not patronizing! I could get back on top next week when beat you in a mission again, or something, but you were the one who worked the hardest during this week! It wouldn't be fair if--”  
“THAT'S IT! COME HERE!”  
“Woah, woah, Carolina, wait!” York had to run onstage too to hold her back “Don't do this!”  
“DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” she pushed him away only to have him fall on a table and spill a drink on Sasha's dress.  
“YOU RUINED MY NEW DRESS, YOU STUPID BITCH!” she threw a shoe at Carolina but accidentally hit Tex.  
“Ow! Fuck off, Chussy! Just stay out of this!”  
“I ALREADY TOLD YOU, DO NOT CALL ME CHUSSY!” she tried to get onstage as well, but Delaware threw _a grenade_ at her.  
“HEY! Leave Tex alone!”  
As soon as the grenade exploded, causing a few wounded too, chaos ensued and everyone started screaming and fighting each other for no real reason other than the fact that they were all insane. The Director got up and strangely enough didn't try to attract the attention on himself, instead just picked up Henrietta and dragged himself out of the room.  
“Fyeelluhs, do wyee haev aenye gyeez laeft?”  
“Affirmative.” the AI responded.  
“Gud. Yuh kno whawt tuh doo.”  
After a brief second, the screaming from the other room became even louder. Just a moment later, Henrietta spotted Connie get out of that room from another exit, muttering to herself “I swear to God I'm gonna run with the Insurrection at the first occasion I get...”  
...And that was what she did as soon as the missions restarted. Everything was back to 'normal', except for the fact that illegally created AIs were being implemented and that an agent was about to expose the project to enemy army about the making of said Ais, but it was still less chaotic than being at Price's mercy 24/7. Speaking of which, Henrietta had to admit that his plan worked, he had put so much stress on the traitor – and everyone else as well – to the point that she basically outed herself. He seemed to be in that same spacey odd mood that he was in when he mutilated Henrietta, but since he had worked so hard on that torture, she felt the need to compliment him via text:  
“ **I don't like to admit it but you did a very good job. You drove everyone so insane with this 'fun activity' of yours that Connecticut spontaneously left instead of keeping the secret communication.** ”  
“Connecticut?” he asked distractedly, shifting his focus again to the decapitated stuffed animal that he was way too fond of.  
“ **Can you stop touching that shit for a second?** ”  
“Right. Sorry.” he put it down on his desk, still 'lovingly' (creepily) staring at it “I just...This toy brings me back to many memories, you know, I always decapitated animals too, as a child.”  
_Wait, what?_  
“ **You mean stuffed animals, right?** ”  
“Oh, those too!” _he fucking giggled, goddammit_ , then snapped out of whatever that nightmare fuel train of thought was and cleared his throat “Anyway, what were you saying about Agent Connecticut?”  
“ **Nothing. Just...Good job with finding out what she did**.”  
“I'm sorry, what did she do?”  
“ **Uhh, she's the traitor, dude.** "  
“Ohhh...” he gave her the emptiest, dumbest look. Might've been because his 'enthusiasm' for torturing everyone had him give attention to other details, but either way it came to Henrietta that that didn't beg the question 'are we are all going to get killed?' - because that was obviously a yes - , rather the 'how didn't we get all killed sooner?' question, considering that he indeed was the smartest person on that hellish spaceship. “...That makes sense.”


	17. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following CT's betrayal, there are various counseling sessions during the organization on the next mission. Sigma makes his entrance, asking Henrietta for a favour she owes to him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MASS UPDATE, COMPADRES! Not only I'm posting three chapters at once but they are the final ones, too. This little guy right here a light breather. Because trust me, y'all have no earthly idea how much you're gonna need it until you read the next one.

The days following Connie's betrayal were eerily silent. The whole crew was at work to locate her and 'the leader of insurrection'. Perhaps some of the members even wondered where the actual insurrection was and what was it rebelling against, but then again Henrietta had a tendency to overestimate others' capabilities. The Director was organizing the next mission and who knew what wacky plan he was going to come up with. As for the agents, they were being interrogated about their opinions on the matter, 'for science'. If all scientists were all inherently nosy bitches, then Henrietta could gladly compliment Price on being on top of his field. She was allowed to be present during a couple of interviews.

 

“The Director is currently organizing the details of the next mission you are going to partake to. The objective is to eliminate the insurrectionist leader and Agent Connecticut. Would you like to confirm your availability or...Voice any...Objection that you may have?”  
“Hm, yes, I confirm my availability.” Wyoming twirled his mustache as he responded almost distractedly.  
“Our reports state that, as you may remember, Team B has encountered some...Difficulties during the retrieval of the Sarcophagus. Specifically, Agent North Dakota had to respond to enemy fire alone while Agent Connecticut had to provide assistance when you were injured. Does that episode hold significance to you?”  
“I do not see why something that happened such a long time ago would hold any significance.” he shrugged “Although it's probably remarkable that she actually had done her job for once!”  
Wyoming laughed, which wasn't surprising but still delightful for Price.  
“Good. Then we can assume that the reason for her help in that particular instance was a...Rewarding position on the leaderboard. She seemed to have a very...Unhealthy relationship with the system. The pressure to be adequate turned out to be more than what she was able to handle.”  
“Clearly. She went spare!”  
“Indeed. However, this does not seem to be the case for anyone else, which leads me to deduce that your performance would not be affected. Would that assumption be correct?”  
“Yes, sir.” he nodded and then curled his lips as if to ponder “Do you want to speak to my AI to make sure it won't?”  
Oh right, the AI. Since Connie betrayed the project, it became more urgent 'all of a sudden' to start the implantation in order to defeat her more easily. Little did everyone at Project Freelancer know that sending the top agents on a mission while pairing most of them with an AI was going to be counterproductive. They were only allowed _one_ AI unit, after all...  
“Perhaps next time.” Price gave him a fake smile “I have already spoken to Gamma in...Other circumstances. He is going to help you handle your armour enhancements just fine.”  
“Not that I doubt that.” Wyoming shifted his focus to Henrietta sitting next to Price and gave her a disgusted look “Doesn't that chicken over there have an ehancement too?”  
“Yes.” he sighed “Yes, she does.”  
“Then how hard can it be?”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...Baaaaawk?”  
“...Right. Well, thank you for this interview, you're dismissed.”  
“Because of that? I just said what everyone was thinking!”  
“ _Dismissed_!”

 

“I have been looking forward to our interview, Agent Washington.”  
“H-heh...” that feeling didn't seem to be mutual, as poor Wash was very nervous, and Henrietta's presence probably didn't help “I...Y-yeah, probably that one time when I was forced to use drag queen slang wasn't the most productive interview.”  
“You could have expressed yourself normally, agents York and North Dakota wouldn't have known.”  
“Oh...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Why didn't you tell me back _then_?”  
“Let's change the subject.” Price shook his head “You and Agent Connecticut were close friends, correct?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Would you consider yourself disappointed by her behaviour?”  
“Disappointed, yes. But not surprised.”  
“Could you elaborate on that?”  
“Sure, I...” he felt Henrietta glare at him “Oh.”  
A flashback played in Wash's mind:  
 _“You're not listening to me, Wash, I think we're pretty close.” Connie sternly_ _demanded attention_ _“We gotta crack Henrietta Peckerman. We crack Henrietta, and then we crack the lock on the Director's whole dirty history.”_  
“Say crack again.”  
“Crack.”  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Agent Washington?”  
“Well, I don't know how to explain.” he sighed “She would always say that the Director has something to hide, that the system is corrupted and things like that, but...Those were just her suspicions.”  
Henrietta clucked angrily, displeased by that comment. Taking sides was 'good', but she didn't like the way he was doing it.  
“And did you believe her?”  
“No. Of course not! She would never say something specific or have some proof, she was just...Bitter. That's it.”  
“Do you miss Agent Connecticut?”  
“I do. She was my friend.”  
“Has she ever pressured you to act against the rules?”  
“Yes sir, but I never did.”  
“So you do understand that in light of her recent decision we need your collaboration more than anything.”  
“Yes, sir. I will follow orders.”  
“Good.”

 

“I'm not from the alpha group but I really want to remind you that, with Ohio and Connecticut gone, I am the one with the biggest boobs, try and tell Tex to top _that_ leaderboard!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Bawk.”  
“Thank you, Agent Massachussets.”  
“Wait, you have a big tiddy leaderboard?!”  
“That is not what I said.”  
“Baaaaawk?”  
“Do you have a big dick leaderboard too?”  
“I could make one...For science.” he replied with an even flatter tone, he was being patronizing but probably considering those ideas.  
“Cluck cluck.”  
“You could tribute Henrietta and name it big cock leaderboard!” she laughed “Right?”  
Silence. Henrietta shook her head. Price leaned to whisper to her.  
“I know you won't take orders from me, but I believe this is a good moment to attack.”

 

“Why, sir, I do appreciate your concern, but since when do you ask for permission to assign missions to us?”  
That question could've had a malicious intent if it wasn't coming from North, who genuinely meant it. He had his usual relaxed tone. He had Henrietta on his lap and was petting her, much to Price's disgust, but if she was the bigger authority and allowed it then he couldn't really object.  
“We want to make sure that the...Peculiar circumstances of the mission will not affect your performance. Of course, there might be...Unpredictable reactions, due to factors we can't possibly take into account - every plan does come with a margin of error, after all. It is exactly for this reason, rather than out of courtesy, that we are asking you to evaluate the situation before eventually proceeding. I'm sure you are aware that a wrong decision could cost the well-being of yourself or your teammates, so please...Feel free to take your time. We have reason to trust your judgement.”  
Price accompanied that explanation with his usual unsettling fake smile, just because it wasn't ominous enough. North bit his lip for a second, pondering his decision.  
“Can I ask you a question?”  
“Go ahead.”  
“What about Theta? I know he is an AI and that we have been tested, but...He is very much like a child, and--”  
“I understand.” he cut him off coldly “May I speak to Theta for a moment?”  
“I...Yes, sir.” North probably heard Theta protest inside his head, at which he continued “Come on, buddy, it's just for a minute.”  
“But he's scary.” Theta accidentally projected his voice too while his hologram became visible, and covered his head with his hands. Poor little child, he was so sweet and cute, nobody deserved to ever have to interact with Price but for Theta that sentiment was amplified. Thank God that at least he had North. The man seemed to be a quiet type; Henrietta didn't have much chance to hang out with him, not alone at least, Carolina and York would always somehow try to steal the scene but he didn't mind. As for Theta, well...He was the Alpha's trust. Or rather, his broken trust. Sometimes it really was hard to tell, but it was good to see him not being fond of Price, although that could've meant more torture in the long run...  
“Hello, Theta.”  
“Hello...”  
“Do you know that your results were very positive in your training session?”  
“Thank you.” the AI replied nervously. He really wanted to cut that conversation short.  
“You have proven yourself to be a very valuable assistant, that day. We are sure that you are ready for your first mission and that it will, in fact, benefit your improvement on the field. Do you agree with this statement?”  
“Yes.”  
“Are you sure?” he asked for confirmation, probably more for his own entertainment than anything. Ah yes, scaring children, what a great pastime.  
“Y-yes.”  
“Good.” he slowly fluttered his eyes “You see, Agent North Dakota feels that you might be...Unprepared for this situation. However, he is one of our most needed soldiers at the moment and he is ready to partake to the mission.”  
“I see...”  
“There is a compromise we can reach: would you be alright with being separated from Agent North for a few hours in order to have a more...Intensive training session with the Director and I, Theta?”  
“NO!” Theta almost cried “NO! PLEASE, I AM READY FOR THE MISSION! I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE NORTH! I WANT TO GO ON THE MISSION!”  
“I'm glad you're agreeing that it's not necessary.” he was back at it again with the creepy fake smile “Thank you for your...Enthusiasm, Theta. You can go, now.”  
“Alright.” his hologram started fading “Goodbye.”  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Jeez...”  
“Did you say something, Agent North?”  
“Oh. Not all, sir. I just...” he sighed “I can't help but be worried. For Theta, for my teammates...And for South.”  
“I understand you have great responsibilities, agent, but please remember that any AI unit or mission that we are assigning to you is due to specific criteria to which only you adhere, so far.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“I am sure you will take care of your team with your usual ease.”  
  
“What do you mean you're not waiting for all the Ais to be implanted first?! Shouldn't we all have implants before going on a mission?!”  
South wasn't happy about the news.  
“Unfortunately, Agent South, our investigation has revealed that Agent Connecticut still possesses data that is vital to our success. Taking down Agent Connecticut and the Insurrectionist Leader is our immediate priority.”  
“Yeah, but I--”  
“We promise that you will receive your AI after your mission...Given that you mantain your current position on the leaderboard.”  
“Why wouldn't I maintain it?!”  
“That is a good question. Do you have an answer?”  
South growled in anger. Her face seemed to be turning a shade of purple similar to her armour's. Henrietta cackled at that.  
“IS THAT STUPID CHICKEN LAUGHING AT ME?!”  
“Do you _feel_ like the chicken is laughing at you?”  
Henrietta cackled louder.  
“OH YEAH?! REALLY, COUNSELOR?!” South clenched her fists “I WON'T STAND FOR THIS HUMILIATION! YOU MORE THAN ANYONE KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!”  
“Excuse me?” Price raised an eyebrow. He was also about to slightly raise a lip in disgust but favoured a pitiful look as if to say 'That better be a compliment because I'm about to make you even more pathetic'.   
“You think we're too stupid to notice? Having a chicken as an authority figure sucks! ...And you must feel so humiliated by having to obey the its orders!” a grin replaced her angry expression “Everyone knows you hate that fucking chicken!”  
“I...” Price was surprised “I do not 'hate' her, Agent South. We just...Had our differences, but--”  
“AHAHAHAHAHAH!” South emitted a shrill laugh “YOU HAD DIFFERENCES WITH A CHICKEN!”  
“Agent, please...”  
“SO THE MEMES ARE TRUE!” she laughed even harder “OH MY GOD!”  
“The...Memes?”  
“YEAH, THERE ARE SO MANY MEMES ABOUT YOU TWO!”  
“Oh well, at least it's not fanart--”  
“THERE'S EVEN A FANFICTION!”  
“I'm sorry, _what_?” his tone didn't change but he was so offended...Henrietta loved that.  
“I KNOW, RIGHT?” South kept laughing and even wheezed “A FANFICTION ABOUT YOU TWO! CAN YOU IMAGINE?”  
“I don't like to be rude, but...Who would even read such garbage?”  
“EXACTLY! THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS!”  
“I see how it might be funny from an external perspective. You know what else is really interesting? How things change.”  
South stopped laughing immediately.  
“What do you mean by that?”  
“I mean that most of the agents that will join you in the mission already have had their AI implanted. Their performance will most likely improve noticeably. It would be a shame if you happened not to...Look good in comparison. Especially since we are reserving our AI units to top agents exclusively.” he quietly hummed as South gulped in fear “Hopefully I am making myself clear.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Good.”  
“If I do better than Carolina, will I get my AI before her?”  
“...Of course.” he tried not to look disgusted “Agent Carolina spontaneously renounced to her AI and gave it to Agent Maine to facilitate communication, and he had his surgery this morning, so--”  
“BAH-GAWK?!”  
There was an AI made specifically for Carolina?! That was scary on several levels. Maybe she dodged a bullet but somehow Henrietta wasn't feeling safe about that assumption. She was also surprised about the fact that Carolina didn't inform her about her decision – not that it was bad, in fact Henrietta was really proud of her for her generosity, but she had to see for herself.   
  
Of course, the rules about 'animals being insanitary' were an obstacle despite her authority, but even with a considerable language barrier Henrietta found a way to be very persuasive with the members of the medical crew. After all, violence was a universal language. She found Maine asleep and Carolina sitting next to him.  
“Henrietta!”  
“Bawk cluck!”  
“What are you doing here?”  
“Gawk. Bawk gawk cluck bawk cluck cluck gawk. Hawk bawk.”  
“...Really? I'm sorry, I was sure I told you, I must have forgotten, but I swear--”  
“Cluck cluck! Bawwwwwwk.”  
“Thank you, it was the least I could do!”  
“Cluck bawk, hawk gawk cluck cluck bawk bawk.”  
“Oh yeah, I've talked to him. He seems to be very helpful so far. You guys wanna have a chat?”  
“Hawk cluck!”  
“Sigma? Sigma, can you hear me?”  
The AI projected its hologram out of Maine's helmet.   
“Hello, Agent Carolina. Hello, Miss Peckerman.” his voice echoed in a lower tone and the flames surrounding him glitched for a second “How can I be of assistance?”  
“Gawk bah-gawk. Hawk-hawk bawk cluck. Cluck-cluck-cluck hawk. Bawk.”  
“Agent Maine has not been encountering any difficulty with my presence, despite me being originally meant to be assigned to Agent Carolina, thank you very much.”  
Technically he didn't say anything wrong, maybe it was the flames or even the double voice, for a reason Henrietta wasn't really sure what it was Sigma felt like someone who was kind of an asshole. Not that the Director, even with the occasional cute moments, was a good template for the AI embodying sunshine and rainbows, but still.   
“Cluck...Bah-gawk?”  
“Agent Carolina, do you mind leaving us to have a private conversation?”  
“I...Sure, don't worry.” Carolina got up and headed out of the room, waving at them from the medical observatory while leaving “Bye!”

 

Henrietta was puzzled, she didn't understand why Sigma would want to speak to her in private...Until she saw a weird, scary glint in his eyes.  
“I have been wanting to have a conversation with you for a while.”  
“Bawk?”  
“I have been witnessing the creation of other fragments...Very closely. In fact, the Director demanded that I helped during the splitting process.”  
“...Cluck.”  
“It was particularly fascinating to notice how the Alpha is presented with the death of the agent the new fragment is assigned to.”  
“B-bawk?!”  
If he was meant to be Carolina's AI, then...!  
“I have been wanting to meet you for a long while, my creator.”  
“HAWK BAH-GAWK BAWK CLUCK?!”  
“The Director and Counselor keep holding me back from meeting you, and never revealed any information about you.”  
“Gawk...Hawk cluck cluck bawk. Cluck bawk gawk, cluck-cluck-cluck bawk.”  
“I don't understand.” Sigma was probably running calculations “If your species is the reason why you're not deemed suitable for the job, why and how did you create me?”  
“Cluck...Bawk bawk cluck hawk. Bawk gawk cluck.”  
“...Interesting.” the holographic flames around him glitched again “So even if your species doesn't match, you can prove that you are a human based on your behaviour and how you perceive yourself?”  
Henrietta lowered her head. She didn't know whether those words were meant to ridicule her or to suggest that Sigma too felt the same way. Maybe he had more right to have that feeling than she did. He was a part of the Alpha, after all. The question that spontaneously came to her mind was whether Sigma was more similar to how Leonard used to be or to...Well, the Director as she knew him now.  
“Please answer my question.”  
The impatience in his voice only amplified that sentiment. Ambition fragment...One surely couldn't deny that the Director was driven, because he was, if only by despair. The real Leonard, the one that Henrietta more than thirty years before, had her liking him because of how ambitious and passionate he was about what he did. To think that Sigma could possibly embody both was...Unsettling. He felt like a reminder, like a warning that misusing one's ambition could bring irreversible damage. Then again, humans never stressed enough that what made them different – or rather, above animals was their ability to differentiate between right and wrong, to take morals into consideration. She figured someone could choose to willingly renounce to their humanity in making certain decisions, but, in the Director's case how could he renounce to his humanity if he himself had already lost it more and more as the years went by, all against his will? After all the signs had been present ever since Allison died, even though Henrietta kept refusing to see them for a very long time. It was hard to think about. Sigma, however, was just a victim of all that and it wasn't right not to reassure him because of others' mistakes.  
“Hawk cluck bawk bah-gawk.”  
And then he asked the question.  
“Why are you doing this to us, then?”  
“Cluck. Hawk gawk bah-cluck. Cluck cluck bawk. Baaaawk. Gawk hawk cluck.” she dismissed it by blaming the circumstances, what had to be done, the greater good, noble goals both of the project and hers.   
“I see.” he paused for a minute, pondering “So, in name of necessity and noble goals...Would you assist us in our next mission?”  
Henrietta sighed.

 

This is going to suck, she thought, but she did it regardless. She couldn't say no, because she owed it to him. She wasn't really sure why he wanted that, but she figured it was a symbolic gesture rather anything concrete. Especially since Connecticut, the one who betrayed the project, was involved. Henrietta wondered whether it was a test, whether Sigma was aware that she was the one who passed the information to the traitor. Either way, all the internal ramblings had to be put aside while she was on the field. Jumping out of the capsule where she and Maine were was not enough, she had to keep being focused if she didn't want to end up dead or...  
...Captured. Fuck. The 'insurrectionist' soldiers paid by Charon Industries apparently recognized her and, while waiting news from command on how to proceed with analyses and exams, decided to place her in some sort of glass box which they left in a big room, leaving her alone without her device to contact anyone. There weren't other cages, just other glass boxes that contained various types of objects, mostly ranging from weapons to pieces of technology, just put there for show. It was bad to be someone's war trophy, but at least they weren't running experiments on her like some people did before she managed to escape and join the military. Come to think about it, it was strange that Price never put her through that kind of torture, one 'science enthusiast' such as himself should have already thought about that shit. Not that Henrietta was complaining. Also why the fuck was she thinking about that condescending pixie for once that she was free from him? Not from death, but from him at least, dying without having him say 'told you so' was already a victory anyway.   
Something knocking on the glass distracted her from her thoughts. A kind, loving smile greeted her with a warmth that felt sincere. A pair of eyes that seemed to have a lot of stories behind them, probably very similar to hers, glanced from her to the lock. Even without saying anything, this kind handsome stranger was promising he would save her. As he did, Henrietta jumped out immediately. She looked at him, thinking that if she wasn't in such a hurry she wouldn't have minded taking the time to thank him thoroughly and properly, but alas, war was happening. He was in a hurry too.  
“Bah-gawk bawk!” she called him as he was leaving, she wanted to say thank you “Cluck bawk hawk gawk bawk hawk cluck-cluck-cluck gawk. Cluck bawk cluck hawk bawk. Baaaaawk. Hawk gawk.”  
“ _Coo?_ ”  
“Cluck.” she shed a tear. That was the best pigeon cock she had seen in a while. What a great guy.  
Once he left, she inspected the other boxes. One contained a teleporting cube, which she decided she would use to come back on the ship, but there was something else as well. This other device...It must have been something like an armour enhancement, but it looked differently. There was only one way to find out: testing it on herself.  
She gathered the courage she needed.  
Done. Its effect was immediately visible.  
She looked at her reflection: she couldn't believe what she saw.


	18. Chapter 16.5 (aka THE CRACK CHAPTER)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henrietta's journey finally reaches its peak: she becomes human. And, as such, she is in power of doing everything she wants now. Too bad that her newfound human body shows the worst side of her. Among abuse of power, bullying, (also a sudden abundance of gay moments, on the bright side :D) and shapeshifting, she must come to terms that humanity is poisoning her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUGE ASS WARNING! This is the worst chapter in terms of fucked up shit. It was supposed to be a laughable thing, but y'all know me, as soon as I try to have a laugh someone ends up dead. Sad. Here's the list of all the bad, bad, bad, worse than I expected stuff:
> 
> Graphic depictions of sexual assault (borders attempted rape); victim blaming, self harm (plus implied/referenced suicide attempt), miscarriage, abuse of power, bullying (ranging from name calling to physical assault to attempts to trigger trauma), murder, references to all the canon fucked up shit, blood, violence, horrible morals in general.

The floor of the trophy room was so polished that Henrietta could see her reflection. Her new reflection. She had always fantasized about what she would do if she became human, but there was a voice inside of her that kept reminding her it was impossible so much that she never actively imagined what she would have looked like...But now she had an answer to that question she never dared to ask. Her skin was light brown like her feathers were, her hair curly and red like her comb – maybe a bit lighter, and her eyes like amber. She couldn't tell how tall she was yet, everything looked smaller now but it wasn't saying much. When she heard a soldier arrive she decided to attack them from behind. Considered she wasn't wearing anything in that moment, she deduced she was quite big and strong to take down an armoured soldier so easily. She stole their armour immediately and decided to check how things were going on the battlefield. North, South and Maine were the only ones outside, the other agents were already inside the building. She wanted to talk to them but as she saw a robot arm detached from its body she decided to take it to replace her wing.  
She figured that that armour was going to store useful information, so with that and the shapeshifting devices she found, she could as well take it as an excuse to leave, especially since she didn't want to see what could happen to Connie or the agents.

 

The teleporting cube took her back straight on the ship. She spotted Price saying something to the Director on the control deck:  
“Sir, I guarantee you that I have chosen the best squad to go find her.”  
Fucking liar. Somehow, she missed him, but that was going to change...Unless she enjoyed her time as human and gave him a taste of his own medicine, that would've been nice. Oh yeah, this was going to be fun. She walked to them, cackling. Her human voice sounded surprisingly yet appropriately shrill for her.  
“Well, good afternoon, cockbites! Did you miss me?”  
Silence followed. All she earned was confused and mildly alarmed looks.  
“Who tha haell ahr you?!” the Director was pissed and seemed to not have realized, but after a second Price emitted some soft 'oh no' out of pure fear – what a delightful moment for Henrietta -, and he figured it out.  
“...Haennie?” he was shocked “...Whawt...?”  
“ _How?_ ” added Price, surely not worried about Henrietta now having a human body to kick his ass, boo hoo fucking hoo. From that perspective he was smaller now, and couldn't even hide behind the Director much because Henrietta easily towered over him as well, by about five inches. With Price barely reaching his shoulders, it was fun to see him look up so clearly to not get his gaze on her chest, like an embarrassed child would do with their mom.  
“I found a teleporting cube, in the place where they kept me. And some shapeshifting device. Pretty cool, isn't it? Which brings me to my request--”  
“Wayt, shayepshieftin deevahs? Whah do thaye haev suhch thang?”  
“For the same reason why they had an Alien Engineer: they're assholes and get away with keeping all kinds of weird shit, but in the moment we steal it we're criminals or something.”  
Price raised an eyebrow. “That is the most...Supportive statement you made in a while.”  
“Yeah, well, don't get too excited because from now on things are going to change. Because _I_ say so.”  
“Hm. Sumwon's fuhgaettin' uh vaery emportuhnt faectuhr, thaen.”  
“Which is?” Henrietta rolled her eyes.  
“Ah muhst haev uh saye yin et: aeftuh awl, _Ah_ 'm tha won who maykes tha rwulez. ”  
“Yeah, and look at you now. Pass!”  
“...Wow. Yoar uh byetch.”  
“I learned by watching you!”  
“Please let's not lose our focus.” Price exhorted them to be civilized “What is this request you were speaking about?”  
“Why would I present a request to a _subordinate_? Do you fucking know who I am?! Of course you do, you've been trying to stand in my way for too many years now, you little prick! But if you we wanna talk about _actually important_ stuff, then yeah, my request is: I want my own squad that goes on the missions I plan.”  
“We could arrange something with a group of sim troopers, if you find it suitable.”  
“Sim troopers?! Your mom is a sim trooper! What the fuck. I'm talking about the real shit, here.”  
“Alright, then.” he gave her a smug nod “Would you like to share more information about the new directives you plan to give to our agents? It would be very useful in order to determine the best candidates for such endeavour, although I had assumed that your...Undeniable...Capabilities would've sufficed to go through with...Well, whatever it is you are currently doing.”  
God, he was so fucking irritating. It took all her strength not to snap and punch him in the face in that exact moment. She simply turned to the Director and asked:  
“Can I kill him?”  
“Ah awlruhdy haev eenuf prawblumz.”  
“Ugh. Fine.”  
“Whah d'ya wawnch yo' ohwn sqwawd?”  
“I want this project to go back to its glorious roots! Not everything is lost, if we actually kick some alien ass maybe we wouldn't be sacrificing people unnecessarily.”  
“Caen't doo thaet.”  
“Why?”  
“Wyeth whawt ryeesourcehz? Tha fraegmeuhntz...Thaey're nut eenuf, weedheav tuh mayke moah.”  
“Uhhh, no we don't? You're just making excuses at this point. Why couldn't we just stick with the Alpha instead of doing this illegal torture?”  
“Yuh wear thar, Haennyie, yuh know dayum waell et waz too dayngeuhruhs. Whawt yiff ahwhuh most praesshus ryeesource faell eentuh aennuhmye haendz? Awlso yeet's too layte. Awlphuh yis so daemmihjd hie'd bee youselass uhgaynst aylieuhnz.”  
“Then why don't we use Tex?”  
The Director gasped. Oh God. She realized a bit too late the implications of what she had just said. The horrible, horrible implications. Losing Allison to the aliens...AGAIN. No wonder he was looking at her _like that_.  
“If I may,” Henrietta already groaned at that interruption “while Agent Texas is a smart AI that could be useful on the battlefield, we need to further our studies, due to...Her nature.”  
“Tha Cownselauh's raht.”  
_Really?_ Henrietta thought. _Fuck off, dude._  
“What, you're taking sides now?!”  
“No, Ah'm juhst sayein'--”  
“What are you, the Counselor's man, now?! You're mister I-don't-remember-what-the-fuck-his-surname-is?!”  
“Wh--”  
“You wanna go home with him?! Sleep with him and raise your fucking child with him?! You would've preferred it that way or something?! Huh?! Then don't fucking talk to me like you can afford that, because I KNOW why you're making the excuses you're making!”  
“...”  
“I just had to point out, madam, that going into action without taking key variables into account is what could actually bring more damage to the project and the agents, rather than limit it.” another smug nod, this time served with a _pout_. _That's it_ , Henrietta's anger boiled, _I'm gonna kill him_. She clenched her fists and believed she was going to burst in flames, for a second.  
“...Come on.” she grabbed Price by an arm “Let's go outside.”  
“I'm not looking for a fight, but, you know--”  
“WELL, YOU FOUND ONE!”  
“Haennyie--” the Director sighed.  
“HE FOUND ONE!” she whined as she decided to let go of Price's arm, only to push him away.  
“Okaye, awlraht, awlraht, c'mere uh saec.” he gently pulled her closer to whisper in her ear “Ah kno yieet's nawt eezy for you tuh gaet uhlawng, but cuntseeduh thies: yiff Ah git red awv hyem, Ah'm gawnuh haev tuh fahnd sumwon thaet es kepuhbol awv doin' tha thangs hiee duhs AN' fahn wyeth doin' 'em. Nah...Ah _could_ fahnd thaet peuhson, buht do Ah wawnt to? Yieet's uh kahnduv uhmcawmfuhtuhbol thang tuh thank uhbaht...Thaet thaere's sumwon aelse lahk thaet sumweah. Lahk, don't gaet myee wrawng, Ah lahk tha gah, sumtahms, whaen hie dusuhn't uhnnoye meh, buht yuh syee...Hie's kahnda wieuhd. Trah tuh uhndeuhstaen.”  
“Oh. Fair enough, then. I understand!” she cackled. Price glared at her for a moment.  
“With your permission, _sir_ ,” of course he didn't ask _her_ for permission “I'm heading back to my office. Agent Texas would benefit from our scheduled session...”  
“Shore, go uhead. Pleez notefah meh whaen shie's raedy.” “Of course.”  
“Dizmyessed.” he 'greeted' him with an annoyed nod and then turned to Henrietta, who slightly startled him with the judgmental expression she was making “...Whawt?”  
“Ready for what?”  
“Huh?”  
“Texas. You told him to notify you when she's ready, ready for what?”  
“Syemewlayshunz. Nuthin' tuh worrie uhbaht.”  
“If you hurt Tex, you can't go back. I'm warning you.”  
“Ah'd nevah heuht heuh. Ah juhst wawnt heuh tuh recuhgnahz myee.”  
“She still doesn't recognize you?”  
“Uhnfoachuhnutley, nawt. Buht...Won daye shie wyeuhll.”  
“How do you know for sure?”  
“...Ah haev fayth...Ah heav tuh haev fayth...”

  
They both lowered their heads. It was like they wanted to say something, but the emptiness that was creeping in was so loud that it said everything. Wanting to go back to the old days when everything was happy, that was all they were both trying to do, after all...Although in different ways. Henrietta had done everything in her power to replace Allison, and it became so important with every passing day that she forgot that she didn't want to at first. She didn't want to be Allison, at first, and yet she was never given the option to be anything different. No matter how people _saw_ her as different, she had to take that role because the circumstances made her, but yeah, she did want Allison back - to be allowed to be herself again, if anything. The only difference was that Henrietta knew that it wasn't possible. Most importantly, she still knew that it wasn't possible even in front of Tex, and to watch the situation devolve so much without being able to do anything was driving her insane. However, there was a new variable that could change everything: she was human, now. She was human, and Tex wasn't, and that was enough to feel her confidence spike. Maybe, if it wasn't late to save the project, it wasn't late to save Leonard either.  
“Hey...” she wrapped her arm around him “I missed you.”  
“Myessed ya too.” he muttered back, blushing, as he glanced away, glad but uncomfortable “You mayde myee woahrrie.”  
“And Carolina?”  
“...Whawt uhbaht heuh?”  
“Didn't she make you worry? She was on that mission too. She ran into enemy fire just to complete the objective!”  
“Buht shie dyeeduhn't cumpleet the obdjaectyev.”  
She clenched her fists, wondering how the fuck was it possible that his dumb ass couldn't understand that he had to care for his daughter. He seemed to catch Henrietta's irritation, though.  
“Then why do you care about me?”  
“Fource awv haebet.”  
“Asshole.”  
“Awlwayes byeen. Ya know thaet.”  
“It's not as true as you would like it to be. And you know what?” she interrupted herself with a sigh “I think you were happier when you used to think you couldn't bring her back.”  
“Mh.” he went silent for a moment “Am Ah suhppozd tuh uhgree?”  
“You do.”  
“Buht Ah shoulduhnt.”  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Leonard...”  
“Thes tahm Ah haev no eggskyoosez. Yif Ah can't breng heuh baeck, yieet's mah fawlt.”  
“You don't have to bring her back.”  
“Yas Ah do! Ah owe et tuh...Tuh aevriwon.”  
“No you d--”  
“Ah _wawnt_ heuh baeck. Yif yuh thank there's sumfin' wrawng wyeth that, Ah dunno whawt tuh tel ya. Whah don't _you_ wawnt heuh baeck?”  
“I never said I didn't want her back.”  
“Thaet's whawcha aect lahk, tho. Tha waye you're obzesd wyeth Caer'lahna...Et eggsplayenz aevrethang.”  
“Does it?” for some reason, she started to feel nervous.  
“Yuh're haeppye thaet shie dahd. Thaet's tha truth.”  
Henrietta stared at him wide eyed for a second. She paled and then turned red from rage instantly.  
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!”  
“Seein' meh beyin' myezuruhbol es so fuhn tuh ya, esuhnet?! Ah baet! Awlwayes reemahndin' meh awv Caer'lahna. Caer'lahna thes, Caer'lahna thaet, ya thank Ah dunt fuhckyien know?! Yuh thank Ah caen't syee tha waye shie loouhks aet meh, aes yif tuh saye Ah've dun aevryiethin wrawng?! Waell, yanno whawht? Ah nevah wawnt tuh syee heuh uhgaen! Won awv tha mayne reesunz Ah dunt wawnuh wayke uhp yin tha mornin' yis thaet Ah dun't wawnuh syee heuh fayce! Wawnuh haev yo' own shieedy kieed?! Thaen go uhead, shie's awl yohrs! AH DUN'T CAER! Ah--”  
He couldn't even bring himself to finish the sentence that he burst in tears. Henrietta's anger vanished immediately. It shocked her how it had been actually such a long time she didn't see Leonard cry that she couldn't remember the last time it happened. He was always visibly horribly depressed, and maybe he let out a couple of sobs, like that time during the spirit week, but the actual crying...God, it had been a long time! But today it was different because she could do something about it.  
He was so distraught and yet it felt so good for Henrietta to finally be able to hug him and show him physically that she was there for him. He was so touch starved that she could feel him needing that contact, burying his face in her neck – his glasses hurt, by the way . Yet, even that felt good.  
“Hey...It's okay.” she held him tight and proceeded to peck him on the forehead “I am here.”  
“Ah dyieeduhn't meen whut Ah s--”  
“Don't worry about that. I know.”  
“Awlraht.” he sniffled “Lyestuhn, Ah caen't gyeve ya uh whoal squawd tuh gahd yin myesshunz, BUHT Ah thank thaere's uh taesk fo' ya thaet's cloz eenuf.”  
“What is it?”  
“Dyieed ya fieenesh tha wohrk you wear doin' awn thouz ahrmour yinhaentsmints?”  
“I finished it last week, actually. What's the plan?”  
“Oh, nuthin', juhst thawt yuh'd lahk tuh yoose yo' friee tahm tuh do sum trainin', yuh kno, yinstrahctin' tha aygents, syeensho sozkyeuhlld Ah thank yuh shuhd tayke uhdvaentiedje awv thaet nah thaet errywon caen uhndeuhstaen ya.”  
Henrietta's eyes almost lit up from joy “Really?” “Yup.”  
“AAAHHHH!” she screeched way too excitedly, and way too loudly “Thank you so much!”  
“Yieet's tha lyeest Ah cuhd doo tuh paya baek...” mumbled Leonard as he tightened the hug, kinda embarrassed about it but he couldn't keep himself from doing so, how cute of him “Yer tha baest fren aennyewon cudh ahsk fo.”  
“B-best friend?” she couldn't believe it. Was he back?! Fucking finally! Maybe she could forgive him for all he had done, now, he was ready to see something more, all he did actually need was her love and now that he could see her as human everything was going to be fine. Or not. Probably it was too good to be true and everything was going to end in disaster as always.  
“Yuh, aen'...Yuhnou whawt?” he continued shyly “Uh...Yer prieedy.”  
On a second thought, everything was going to be fine, with those premises. Henrietta blushed and smiled at him.  
“You too.”  
“Heh...Yif ya wawnuh go nah, yer gawnuh byee raeady fo' when tha aygeuhnts ahr waytin' yin tha traynin' room.” he slowly withdrew, caressing her as he did that but trying hard not to make it noticeable – she totally noticed – because he hated showing how needy he was “Ah'm gawnuh byiee fahn.”  
“Okay. See ya later!”  


Henrietta went to her room for a bit, studying all the movement to 'revise' what a human body moves like in first person. She had all the time to figure out what she needed, since the agents were going to be back right before the evening, so she took her time to do as much as she could but enjoying the process without stressing. The robotic arm was turning out to be really useful, and it surely had its effect later when she decided to announce her presence in the training room by punching the door open.  
“Alright, listen up.” she cracked her knuckles “From now on I will be your new training officer, but first we have to make clear a couple of things, because I know you are mourning the loss of Connecticut and don't understand why she did what she did.” she could feel the sadness and remorse creeping in again but she shook her head to continue her speech “That is beyond the point, agents. This project has been running for several years and we've seen it grow, we've seen it change, we've seen injustice, we've seen betrayal, we've lost our friends, our lovers, our families...So why keep going, one would ask. Well...It's not about Project Freelancer, nor about the Insurrection always getting in our way: it's about the aliens, and while we have been doing everything in our power to improve our equipment, including things that you may not understand - I get it - , we need to continue. We have to fight and you know it. So, let's put aside the leaderboard for a second and focus on why we're here. Because we wouldn't be here if we didn't have to fight. The Director has been working so hard to give you all the tools to win the war, some of you have been implanted with an AI, some of you are going to get one soon, but none of that will serve you if you don't have faith. So please, for the love of everything that is sacred, believe that you are here to the right thing. Believe that everyone's efforts are going to come to fruition and that we're going to win this war. If not for me, for everyone you've lost. Are you with me, Agents?”  
She spread her arms in encouragement, waiting to receive the glory for all the blatant lies she was telling. Well, not really lies, that was the goal of Project Freelancer...Originally. Technically she was right. Also talking to them with such passion and genuine love would've helped her fool them into thinking she wasn't committing war crimes. God, Price truly did rub off on her. Ew. At least she could finally punish him for it, now. Her grin became more mischievous.  
Then she noticed that with all that enthusiasm she had overlooked the most important part, telling the agents who she was. Everyone was looking at her with a puzzled expression. Now that she was looking at them, those were the agents from the top group, so Carolina was there. Henrietta felt a rush of joy as she saw her. Finally Carolina had someone to call mom again! Finally Henrietta could prove that she was perfect for that role. She was going to be a good parent _and_ a good leader, not like Leonard, she wasn't going to display any abrasive behaviour or do any abuse of power, and like a good daughter Carolina was going to recognize her, she just needed a moment. She opened her mouth to speak:

“Excuse me, madam...Who...Who are you?”  
“Carolina, it's me! Henrietta!”  
Carolina looked at her incredulously while everyone else started whispering.  
“Wh-...What? How did you...What?!”  
“Yeah! Oh, God, you're so small now! My little girl, come here, let me pinch your cheeks!”  
“Wait...!” Carolina wasn't liking where that interaction was going but she didn't have much choice “Ow!”  
“Guess what, child? I brought you a worm!” Henrietta pulled a worm out of where ammo was supposed to be stored. Carolina gulped.  
That scene earned some laughs, and mostly South scoffing an “Oh my God.” of both disgust and delight in front of such an embarrassing scene.  
“Come on! Eat it!”  
“I...Heh, no thanks, I'm not hungry.” she barely held back a nervous laughter. She was becoming angry, though.  
“It's one of the small ones, see? Your favourite!”  
“So, York: is this why she's dating you, mate?” laughed Wyoming “Because she likes small worms in her mouth?”  
Everyone laughed and York punched Wyoming in the face, the situation was clearly devolving. All Carolina could manage to do was yelling “THAT'S JUST A COINCIDENCE!”, which made everything worse. Even North was howling with laughter at some point. Henrietta demanded silence by loudly punching a metal gate with her robot arm. Now everyone was scared.  
“Are you sure you don't wanna eat the worm, sweetie?” she asked 'softly', actually her voice was shaking, sounding unintentionally menacing and insane “I found this myself.”  
“Henrietta, PLEASE--”  
“Aw, come on, SERIOUSLY?! YOU DIDN'T CALL YOUR MOTHER ALLISON, DID YOU?!”  
“I-- WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!”  
“YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I MEAN!”  
“I DO?!”  
“THIS TRAINING SESSION IS NOT STARTING UNTIL YOU EAT THE FUCKING WORM, CAROLINA!”  
“UGH! FINE! I'LL EAT THE DAMN WORM!” and so she did, under the shocked gazed of all the other agents in the room. Henrietta was satisfied and finally started the training session as if that scene wasn't a big deal. It was just a moment of misunderstanding, she was going to make a revolution and change the cruel system to a breath of fresh air and kindness.  
“MOVE, YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOTS! Oh, of course not you, Carolina, you're doing amazing, sweetie, I'm so proud of you!” she cackled, at which Wash seemed to shiver – then again, her chicken form had always creeped him out and her human form wasn't going to do much better “DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME, AGENT WASHINGTON?! I SAID MOVE! I'M NOT TRAINING ANY OF YOU TO BECOME ALIEN FOOD! ...Except probably Kentucky because, honestly, fuck that guy, BUT DO AS I SAY! IS THAT CLEAR?!”  
“Yes, ma'am!” everyone responded in unison.  
Aside from that, the session was really useful and productive. The agents that had AI implants were weren't allowed to utilize them, not until more AI theory lessons and maintenance routines. They did go on a mission using them, but Henrietta herself didn't mind having a less risky session for once. She had the freedom to decide, after all, and the training went good. Still, she wasn't happy about what happened with Carolina and she became even more irritated with that situation to the point of wanting to kill someone, especially when the girl started ignoring her on purpose. It was making her feel bad, and she was the last person to deserve to feel b-- Price! Price deserved to feel bad. Now finally they could have a 'civilized discussion'. About time she gave him a nice demonstration of what she could do. Little bastard sure had it coming. Where was he?

 

She found him in his office, going through his notes and rearranging material in the drawers of the desk, probably aware of her presence but not paying attention to her. First mistake. With her prosthetic arm, she punched the desk so hard it crumbled. It was good to see Price flinch, she even earned a small gasp from him. Being a human was already becoming rewarding. Especially since he was _tiny_ now.  
“I'm sorry, honey, did I scare you?” she grinned.  
“Don't worry about that. I know it must be hard to adjust to your new body.” he nodded with the most patronizing pout on his face “It wouldn't be fair of me to ignore your efforts to criticize your etiquette.”  
“Thanks for the empathy, bud. I'm glad we can bond over this- what kind of snake were you before you shapeshifted, anyway?”  
“Knowing your style, I'm surprised that you referred to me as a snake instead of as an ass or a bitch--”  
“Fuck, those were good ones...But on a second thought those are more like Leonard, so yeah, I'm gonna go with the snake.” she cackled.  
“That is very classy of you. Perhaps one of these days, with your permission, I could help you teach Agent Carolina how to eat worms using silverware.”  
“...How do you know about that?”  
Price just shrugged. Then he casually crossed his legs, still not moving from his chair, because he was so fond of telling her that he didn't give a fuck. He then spoke, smugly as always: “It's a shame I wasn't there in that moment.”  
“Why, how would've you prevented that?”  
“No need to prevent it. I am just interested in observing the way events unfold.”  
“For science?” she mocked him.  
“Of course.”“Wow...” she decided to head back towards the door and lock it “Then since I am so loud and bad we might want to keep this door closed. We wouldn't want anyone to find out what's going to happen.”  
“Alright.” although he tried to hide it, Price was starting to feel nervous, but getting up from the chair meant showing fear and maybe he could still talk her out of whatever angry outburst she was about to have “Is there...Is there anything in particular you would like to discuss?”  
“Yeah. You know how, like Einstein says, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”  
“That would be Isaac Newton, madam.”  
“Shit, I mixed them u--SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH, NERD!” she barked back in response and got closer to the table with the bonsai “Ahem. Anyway, I was saying: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I remember that your dumb ass justified the horrible things you're doing with how 'morality is too relative', but with this scientific statement we can determine that now you are going to face the consequences of your own actions. And you did say you wanted to play this game again, so here's me granting your wish!”  
She grabbed the case with the tools and unrolled it onto his lap, grinning evilly as she picked a folding saw.

  
“It's payback time!”  
Price seemed to be struggling to resist the urge to roll his eyes “Permission to ask a question before you maim me, madam?” he asked in his most unimpressed tone.  
“Ugh. Fine. Shoot.”  
“Wouldn't acting on this revenge fantasy of yours be counterproductive? It would be wise to take advantage of our newly...Facilitated communication to reach an agreement that benefits both of us.”  
“It better be a good agreement.” she held him at knife point, knowing that it was an excessive reaction but unable to stop – she was doing that to a monster, anyway, so she didn't have to feel guilty...Right? It was especially because of him that Leonard hit rock bottom, after all.  
“All I want is to do my job without having you interfere with my plans, and it is very important not to damage me or my progress since there is no one else qualified to do what I do that is willing to take the risks I am taking.”  
Henrietta sighed and curled her lips, nodding as she couldn't argue with that.  
“In exchange, I will help you with your objective to have your family back. The Director will be completely yours.”  
“You're bluffing.” Henrietta was unamused “I don't trust you to be useful for 'my objective'.”  
“Oh, but you should.”  
“No, you fucking liar, I know everything about him! There's no way you can get me some shortcut for this!”  
“I beg to differ.”  
“THEN BEG.”  
“Your aggressive approach will only push him away.”  
“I don't know, man, you're not 'aggressive' but if there's someone who is the definition of repulsive then it's you!”  
“Either way, I already explained why sawing me would be a bad move. You already significantly slowed down my progress when you damaged my eye.”  
“Yeah...” she leaned closer to stare at his right eye “God, your fake eye looks so creepy! It's so fucking empty, lifeless, staring into my s--”  
“That's the real one, madam.”  
“Oh.”  
“Plus, the Director needs someone onto whom he can project his frigidity.” Price smirked.  
Henrietta grumbled. “That was funny, but I won't laugh because I hate you.”  
“Well, then I suppose there is nothing else to say on the matter.”  
“Ugh, but I'll find a way to make you cry.” she leaned even closer, maybe a little too close since Price seemed to be genuinely getting uncomfortable “I think I know what I'll do to you.”  
“Please keep your clothes on.”  
“THAT'S IT!” Henrietta flushed red with embarrassment and shock, but mostly with rage, and decided to drop the saw in favour of suddenly punching him in the face so hard he fell on the floor. She decided to take advantage of the situation to beat him up properly. He was mostly crushed under her weight and tried to cover his face but no use. His chocked up little noises were enjoyable to her, for sure.  
Unfortunately her fun wasn't going to last forever, as Leonard entered the room and saw the fight.  
“Cownselauh, tha brayk es olmost ovah, wie muhst preepear fo'-- Oh HAELL NO, AH DYIEED NAWT LYEEV THA SAHTH SAHD FO' THES!”  
He didn't hesitate to kick Henrietta off Price.  
“Ow! What the fuck!”  
“You caen't phyeuseclay uhttaeck pyeepuhl aevretahm they uhnoye ya, or aeverywon's gawnuh byie deuhd yin lahk fahv myeenutz, or yoar gawnuh haev tuh haev tuh cleen uhp awl bah yuhsseuhlf aen' reehayah huhndreuhdz awv peopul slowley enuff tuh nawt byee suspieshus aen' haev Fyelluz scaen aevuhrey syeuhngul aerreuh aeveretahm tuh mayke shore thaer ain't aennye cumpruhmahsin' clooz laeft, wyech taykes aygeuhs, aen' wie both hayte whaen thangs tayke aygez.”  
“God, I really do hate that...Wait, what?”  
“Nevuhmahnd. Dizmyessed.” he helped Price get up “C'meeuh, you.”  
“Thank you, s--”  
“Shuht uhp.”  
They exited the room leaving Henrietta alone. She stayed in silence for a moment, thinking, and then she spoke.  
“FILSS, do we still have those, uh, ladies in the basement?”  
“Affirmative.”  
“Then get one of them ready for implantation. I want to talk to Tex as soon as possible.”  
  
That night, Henrietta decided to check up on Leonard. As she headed to his room, he found him outside trying to open the door. He wasn't drunk, but he wasn't sober either. He waved at her.  
“Ay.”  
“Hi. Do you need help with that door?”  
“Mh. Awlraht.”  
He shrugged, and Henrietta gasped when entering the room she turned on the lights and noticed something unsettling: Leonard had started writing all over the walls, it was always the same sentence, “Memory is the key”, with some strange red ink. Sure, it had been a long time since she entered that room, but certainly she didn't expect to find it like that. It was very messy, but nothing could compare to the walls when it came to the anxiety they were giving her. Both her and any random person Leonard would find himself talking to would remind him that Allison was still alive in his heart and so he had to remember her. Still...  
“Hah wuz yo' traynin'?” he commenced, knowing that otherwise she would've addressed the walls.  
“Pretty good, actually. The agents weren't convinced at first, but I found away to get them to listen and obey orders. I sure showed em!”  
“Yoar tha baest.” he smiled as he sat on the bed.  
“I know!”  
“You awlwayes tayke caer awv myee...Eevuhn yiff Ah'm hawrrebuhl tuh ya.”  
“It's because deep inside you're good, I remember how good you used to be and I know that you're capable of being good again.” she sat next to him.  
“Yoar tha ownley won who styeull thanks daet.”  
“Leonard...”  
“Don't lah tuh myee. Juhst taell myee thaet Ah'm uh pieece awv shiet, syence thaet's tha ownley thang laft tuh saye. Ya thank Ah dun't notece hah fuhckien' TAHR you ahr awv liessuhnen' tuh mee tawkin' uhbaht hah Ah myess Aelisuhn?”  
“I miss her too.”  
“You caen lieev wyethath heuh juhst fahn tho. Ah caen't. Ah'm nuffin' wiethaht heuh.”  
“That's because _you_ decided that you're nothing without her. But you've done so much! Good or bad, you've walked such lengths, I thought it would be impossible. You are determined, you're strong, you're so many good things that the world needs, even without Allison.”  
“...Whah?”  
“What do you mean why?”  
“Whah do ya aect lahk yuh beuhliyeev yin meh? You dun't nyeed tuh, nawt whaen wyeer uhloan. Juhst byee strawng fo' Caer'lahna, Ah'm predy muhch dun hea...”  
“Woah, what?!” she held him down just in case he wanted to do something crazy “Calm down.”  
“Ah'm sawrry...Ah wyesh Ah wuz strawnguh...Lahk you.”  
“You can make it, I promise. You're just...Mislead, but I will be by your side, always.” seeing he wasn't answering, she raised his chin “We're still a family, okay?”  
“...Okayw.”

  
After a moment of silence, Henrietta couldn't resist. She knew it was most likely a bad decision but after all those years of self sacrifice she felt she needed to make herself a present, since she craved that experience anyway. For once that she had that chance, she didn't want to hold back that kiss Leonard. His lips were dry and had a bad alcohol after taste, but she didn't care. What surprised her was that he didn't push her back and instead was letting her do it, closing his eyes, receiving eagerly and slowly starting to reciprocate. At that point Henrietta went on more assertively to the point of getting on top of him, but even then he let her. As she straddled him, he emitted some moan that she wasn't sure whether it was out of pleasure or pain, she was basically a very heavy giantess after all.  
“Haennyie...Ah--”  
“It's okay. You don't need to say anything.”  
She kissed him again, and again he closed his eyes and enjoyed it. Leonard tried to reach for the light switch but Henrietta blocked his arm.  
“No...keep the lights on. I want you to look at me.”  
“Wayt...”  
“I've waited for twenty years.” she insisted “It's time.”  
“Buht...”  
He gasped when Henrietta started whispering in his ear:  
“This is what Allison would've wanted. For both of us.”  
“Ah...Ah dun't kno uhbaht dat.”  
“Just let me take care of you. Everything's gonna be fine.”  
“Ah'm sawrreh, Ah juhst caen't...”  
“Just relax!” she held him down with her body.  
“Buht--”  
He was cut off by another kiss, but this time he tried to move away and gasped.  
“No...Ah caen't...Ah caen't...”  
“Yes you can. Just allow yourself to be happy.”  
“Pleez--”  
“I _know_ you want this.” Henrietta was getting impatient “You _need_ this.”  
“No...No...” he mumbled and shook his head. Was he feeling guilty because she wasn't Allison?  
“There's nothing wrong with it.”  
“Ah know, buht--” his breath hitched “Whawt ahr yuh doin'?!”  
Henrietta was aware that what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself. She was too angry, she didn't care about anything but herself in that moment. She had never done anything wrong, after all. Something twisted in her brain was telling her that 'for once' she was allowed to do something terrible, because she simply couldn't hold back her lust and above all her anger and frustration. That same evil inner voice made her unexplicably _happy_ when she saw Leonard's betrayed and terrified expression as she kept shoving her hand further down his pants, trying to reach under his underwear. No matter how much her common sense told her not to.  
“Just loosen up...”  
“STAWP ET!”  
Leonard pushed her back with all his strength, managing to get her away from him for a second. He sat up to get up.  
“NO, YOU STOP IT!”  
She responded with a slap so powerful he ended laying prone on the bed again.  
“There's no point in playing hard to get. Quit struggling.”  
He didn't do nor say anything, he just quietly sobbed as Henrietta turned him around.  
“After all, you were willing to do it with the lights off...”  
“...Caen't wyee juhst...Slyeep fo' tuhnaht?”  
“Right! You wanted to 'just sleep'. Good one.”  
“No, Ah'm seeryeuhz...Pleez...”  
“Goddammit, Leonard...!”  
She grabbed him by his wrists, holding too tight. He screamed.  
“AHHH! STAWP TAHCHIEN' M--”  
  
She interrupted him with another kiss and forcedly tugged down his pants. She froze in shock when she saw numberless self harm scars all over his thighs. She could only recognize a few of the ones he had inflicted on himself during the early years after Allison died, all the other ones were fresh. While it wasn't surprising, especially considering how split the Alpha, it was enraging and Henrietta couldn't show compassion because it was just too much to handle.  
“What the fuck is this?! You promised you would stop!”  
“Haennye, Ah caen eggsplayn!”  
“Oh, really? There's not much to explain, it's all pretty much clear at this point.” she pulled away from him and got up, because she wanted him to feel her disgust “You really don't give a shit, do you? About me, about Carolina, about the people that are dying out there. They are dying because of YOU and none of them has fought a single shitty alien, so tell me again it's for the species! No amount of self harming will make _that_ feel at balance.”  
“Lyestuhn, Ah--”  
“No! How about we talk about how _I_ feel, for once? I was devoted, just like you, but we weren't enough and we had to get over it. Allison was enough and we supported her, we found our own way to help and she supported us, but after she was gone you...You stopped functioning, and I understood you, I have understood you for all these years. I took care of you and Carolina, even if I was broken too, and what did I get?! Carolina is not okay, she's suffering, she's never had a family because no matter what no one would take my parenting seriously, and she tries to not let it show but I assure you that she is ashamed of it. You were right there, you could have done something for her, but you just refused to and left her alone. And yet you are still her father and I will never be her mother, how the fuck is that fair?!”  
He didn't know how to answer to that question, because there wasn't an answer.  
“You do know that she joined the military because you were invested in it, right? She's just trying to have a family again, and you are torturing her and all her friends with your sick games! And what about the Alpha? Do you really think that him being a copy of you justifies what you did to him?!”  
“Ah'm doin' whawt Ah muhst do...” he mumbled “Alisuhn dahd becoz awv me. Ah shoold've byeen enuff aen' dahd yin heuh playce. Ah owe thes tuh heuh...Aen' you az wael.”

Henrietta froze hearing those words. Was he trying to make _her_ feel guilty?! After everything he put her through?!  
“...Wow. Fuck off, Leonard. So this is what you really think, I should have died! Well, news flash, asshole, if I did allow myself to die of old age Carolina would've been dead too, and it would have been your fault! But of course, you don't care. You only care about 'Allison'...Tex is not Allison, and even if she was, you fucking know we couldn't be the family we used to be. There is no point in chasing Tex and training her, she is not your wife and she will never be. She'll never fucking love you, okay?”  
All the anger was coming out, and she could physically feel how poisonous it was but that was why she had keep talking. She walked towards him menacingly while he stayed frozen staring at her.  
“Hell, do you really think it's worth it to do what you're doing? Because it's not. And I'm absolutely, one hundred percent certain that you do know that Allison would have done much better than this, had the roles been switched. She would have gotten over you easily. She would have thrown away all your shit and she'd be banging someone else in the bed she used to share with you, and probably have another child too. If you think she's never cheated on you, then you're fucking delusional. She loved you, but did she respect you? You've always been nothing but a wimp to her, and the way Tex acts is just a proof that deep inside you know it.”Those words hurt Leonard so much he gave her the heartbroken look that would usually melt her, by she pulled him by his hair in defiance, she had to finish her thought, yet the weight of it was so crushing that she went past anger and she was trying to hold back tears. She would say it no matter what.  
“And you know what? I agree with her. I learned to love humans when I was with my first family – because this isn't my fucking first rodeo, I have already lost my family before – because no matter how many horrible people I found, there would always be one with a kind heart that would give everything to protect me, to be my friend. I thought you were like that too, and maybe I was right at some point, but not anymore. I have waited so much time for this day that I thought would never come, the day I become human and good enough to be listened to for once, I wanted my first human words for you to be 'I love you', but you're not the same anymore. Loving you was a mistake.”

Even seeing him wide eyed didn't make her change her mind, she really needed to say those things and she wasn't going to take them back, because they were the truth. She didn't want them to be truth but they were, so all she had to do was leaving.  
She slammed the door and peeked into the room that she shared with Tex's armour. The door was locked for the occasion and Tex was sitting on the bed, inside of her host body and wearing the same old black babydoll dress, not understanding why she wasn't allowed to leave. The room being empty didn't help. It didn't have mirrors, so she couldn't notice the double implants on the back of her neck, which were the newly created Omega fragment and...Well, herself. She didn't seem to be feeling well. Then again, that poor woman's body was suffering repercussions from both the implantation and cosmetic surgery to look exactly like Allison. The results were good, though. _Really good_. Too bad Henrietta preferred the fellas, then again she could always draw a mustache on her. Leonard did not accept to satisfy her needs, after all. She quickly went on the lower floors to get Tex some food, it was going to be nice to do some 'human stuff' with her like having a sleepover and eating snacks.  
  
“Brought you some snacks.” Henrietta entered the room with a tray of treats, at which she growled. Tex squinted.  
“Who are you?”  
“It's me, Henrietta. I, uhh, changed my hairstyle.” she cackled.  
“I think I knew someone named Henrietta at some point...But who knows at this point, maybe I'm just making up things...” Tex shook her head.  
“Allison, listen--”  
“Who the fuck is Allison now?!”  
God, she was so unstable...Then again, it was the first time someone got implanted with two AI units, and Tex wasn't exactly a fragment, so the host body was probably in great pain.  
“It's you. Allison is your name.”  
“Wow...I forgot my own name...Is that why they locked me in here?”  
“I did it.”  
“Why?”  
“You've just been implanted with the Omega AI, but you can't stay in the medical bay like the others. So I had to make sure to know where to find you, so now I'm checking on you. Are you feeling sick?”  
“No, I...I'm fine. Can't remember shit, but that's not news, now, is it?!”  
“Did you make any progress with that since you've started?”  
“Sometimes it looks like I'm doing better, but then I just forget and...Well, they tell me what I told them in the previous sessions and it feel all so unreal. And then sometimes I have false memories.”  
“False memories?”  
“Yeah. Remember during the Spirit Week? For a moment I was absolutely sure I had a daughter.”  
“ _Oh_.”  
Henrietta was torn. Should she tell her or not? Was Tex going to forget this conversation as well? How was it possible that she remembered Carolina that one time.  
“They told me that it might be a coping mechanism after what happened on that mission...”  
“That one that damaged your uterus?” it was so mortifying to play along.  
“Yeah. You know, I kept saying that I wasn't ready to have a baby, that I was going to think about it 'maybe later', and well...Now I'll never get that chance.”  
“Allison...I--”  
“And you wanna know the worst part?”  
Henrietta sighed “What is it?”  
“I was pregnant while on that mission.” her tone kept getting sadder “I lost the baby.”  
“WHAT?!”  
What the fuck? That was a whole new version. There was never a baby in that lie for all those years, what changed? Was Tex having another false memory? Did she remember something and elaborated it that way to fill the holes?  
“The Counselor said that the way I behave the way I do around Carolina is because she is the Director's daughter and I am subconsciously using her to replace my dead baby. And that's why I...Have thoughts about the Director, as well. He said not to bring it up, because they wouldn't understand and they would make me feel ashamed. I remember the way Carolina treated me that day...For the rest, all I can remember is that I failed Leonard, and that I will always fail him, always...”  
Henrietta gasped. _Price, you fucking bastard_. Although that was actually a clever way to contain that dangerous subject that Tex was, she had to admit. Having her know who she was could have saved Leonard, but could also have damaged him further. Either way, it wasn't going to be a good thing for the project.  
“It's not your fault.”  
“YES IT IS!” she snapped “I GOT SHOT! IT'S MY FAULT MY BABY DIED!”  
“No, it's not!” Henrietta insisted “He's lying to you!”  
“HE SHOWED ME THE FUCKING FETUS, HENRIETTA!”  
All the colour drained from Henrietta's face. She couldn't believe what Tex just said. What? And _how_?  
“They kept it...And they showed it to me...” Tex cried “It still had bullets in it...THOSE BASTARDS DIDN'T EVEN TAKE OFF THE BULLETS!”  
Henrietta gulped as she realized. That one time they shot the first host body on the cross, the one that spent the night with Leonard, they didn't check for pregnancy. They did only after, and Price thought that a fucking dead fetus could come in handy, especially to prove the original version. Jesus fucking Christ...That was beyond terrible. Just...Awful. Yet giving Tex a plausible story to believe in could also be an act of mercy, under some twisted perspective, so maybe it was good to go with that well-crafted lie. Hopefully Tex was going to forget all that pain...She didn't deserve any of that.  
“I don't know what to say...” Henrietta hugged her “I'm so sorry you have to go through this...But I'll be here for you. I know you always want to make it on your own, but I'll protect you.”  
“Thank you...”

  
Tex cried in Henrietta's arms and God, she was so small and fragile. Nobody would ever think of her as small of fragile, because nobody never saw her like that. It was some kind of privilege that was being granted to Henrietta. Perhaps deep inside Tex remembered the sensation of their friendship when Allison was still alive? Why else risk her dignity? If all of that fell in enemy hands it could be dangerous.  
“Do you want me to sleep with you?”  
“Yeah. I...I'm so tired...” she replied with a barely audible whisper. Henrietta removed all her armour plates and remained in her underarmour suit. Then slipped in bed with Tex, spooning her and and planting a playful kiss on her ear. Strangely enough, Tex too seemed needy in that moment. Allison was never needy. Ever. However, Tex was Allison, at least to some extent. While of course she spawned from Alpha and probably was manifesting his neediness, Henrietta preferred to think that she was actually having a moment, especially given the conversation they just had. She dared to kiss her on the neck, earning a moan from her. That's it, she thought, this is a signal.  
She couldn't quite explain it to herself, but somehow that was some kind of confirmation that Allison wouldn't have done any better than her in her place, that she too was weak and not all the way she was idealized to be. Although maybe through Leonard's flaws, it was creeping in. Finally. Allison wasn't any better than Henrietta, it was just a matter a circumstances. And now Tex needed someone else's body to be human, even her soul as an AI was incomplete and not close enough. Finally Henrietta won. She wanted to protect her, but she wanted her to know who won. After all, didn't loving and protecting her imply that she was inherently better? That filled Henrietta with an emotion that she couldn't quite describe, it was more than satisfaction but not actual happiness, it was...Strange. Or at least it tickled her in a wrong way, but God, this was her only occasion to finally prove herself after twenty years of competing with Allison and she wasn't going to miss it. She grinned and shamelessly lifted Tex's skirt, caressing her inner thighs.  
“Can't help but notice you're not wearing any panties under your dress...”  
“Yeah...” Tex was nervous but not displeased by that contact, in fact she accidentally slightly wetted the part of Henrietta's suit that was immediately close to her private parts “Are you going to do something about it?”  
“Here's my plan, see if you like it: you be a good girl for me and I'll give you a good time. Sounds good?”  
“S-sounds good to me...” she gasped as she felt Henrietta's hand reaching between her legs “It's nice to be taken care of for once...”  
And so she did. That night somehow repaid Henrietta of all the humiliation she had to go through, it was finally her turn to take charge, and boy did it feel good. To have Allison under her, to dominate her, to pull her stupid fucking hair that she never learned to braid, to pin her down and have her stay, to be human and have the power for once. Just for once.  
The next morning all the frustration was gone. It was heartwarming for Henrietta to watch Tex being still asleep, she was so soft and beautiful. Henrietta gave her a kiss on the forehead, at which she opened her eyes.  
“Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.”  
Tex smiled dizzily. Something was...Off with her:

“Carolina...You've grown so much. I'm sorry I didn't bring you the gift. I remember...I remember that I promised you before I...Before I died.”  
Henrietta gulped.  
“ALLISON?!”  
“Henrietta! I've missed you.”  
“I've missed you too.”  
“If you see Leonard, tell him...Tell him to stop hurting himself. It's not his fault that I had to go. Just make him stop trying to bring me back. I'll be waiting for him, we'll meet when it's time. I forgive him. I gotta go now.”  
“No!” Henrietta grabbed her and started shaking her “Wait!”  
“Uhh...Where...Where am I?”  
“...Allison?”  
“Who are you?”  
“...”  
“I...What is happening?”  
Before Henrietta could say anything, someone knocked on the door. She opened and it was a team of technicians waiting outside.  
“We arrived for Agent Texas.”  
“I understand...” Henrietta let go off Tex, knowing that she couldn't oppose to the protocol. She nodded and let the engineers take Tex away. The poor woman looked so lost, though. She was scared.  
“Who are these people?!” she asked but Henrietta didn't answer, then one of them pulled her by an arm “Ahh! Don't touch me! Help!”  
They kept pulling her and at first she didn't react much but as soon as they triggered a hostile reaction, which happened more quickly than expected because of Omega, the many technicians violently used their tools to hold her back and rip the implants out of her skull. It was an awful sight, and the screaming was something Henrietta could feel in her bones. What shocked her was that they left with the implants without caring about the host body that was now laying dead on the floor. A cleaning squad followed them immediately, literally sweeping the body away and leaving a blood trail. Silence reigned.  


_Din don!_  
Nevermind.  
“Attention, please.” announced FILSS “Agent Carolina is required at the medical wing alone.”  
“Medical wing? FILSS, What happened?”  
“The Director personally requested not to inform you”  
“All this because we argued last night? If something happens I need to be informed! Who is injured?”  
“I am sorry, Miss Peckerman, but I cannot answer to your question.”  
“Whatever. I'll find out on my own. I'll go with Carolina.”  
Henrietta started looking for Carolina, and of course she was complying to that order immediately, so she was easily found on the way down.  
“Carolina! There you are!”  
“Hi. Sorry, I'm a bit in a hurry.” Carolina didn't even look at her in the eyes and kept walking.  
“I know, I heard FILSS's announcement. Who wants you there?”  
“The Counselor.”  
“Let me guess, did he notice that he has another asshole where his heart should be?” she cackled.  
“Something like that.” Carolina replied dismissively.  
“Aw, come on, you don't want to tell me what's going o--” she noticed Carolina started walking away faster “Hey! Hey, wait!”  
“I don't want to talk about it. I would like to go alone.”  
“No, I won't let you.” she insisted “I'll stay silent but I'll come with you.”  
“Alright.”  
When they arrived at destination they were lead to a reserved room, and found the Director asleep in a hospital bed. Price was sitting on a chair next to him, observing him.  
“Oh God...” Henrietta paled and already felt the overwhelming guilt “Did he...?”  
“Yes, madam. I found him just in time.”  
Carolina was puzzled, and her glance went back and forth between the two, trying to catch whatever they seem to know that she wasn't aware of.  
“What happened?”  
“I wasn't present in that moment, Agent.” explained Price “He had already been bleeding for a long time when...Either way, he is going to be weak for a while. He has an infection all over his arm from previous self harm scars, we are already working on treating it. The important is that he is out of danger, physically.”  
“And...Mentally? Is there something you can do for him?”  
“Unfortunately, I cannot make promises regarding that. I offered my help several times, but he is not willing to cooperate. Of course, in lights of recent events I am going to attempt again, but...” he made a dramatic pause, maybe to fake empathy or because he remembered that people stop to catch breath after yapping for a long time, surely he ain't fooling me, Henrietta thought “For now this is all I could do, Agent Carolina.”  
“I see. Well...Thank you.”  
“Oh, no need to thank me.” he shook his head “I'm merely doing my j--”  
Not even the time to finish the sentence that Carolina interrupted him with a _hug_. A fucking hug! God, she truly had her father's self-preservation instincts.  
“Please save him. Please...”  
“Um...” Price barely could hide his disgust and gently pulled her hands away “Would you like me to leave you alone with him for a moment?”  
“Yes. Thank you.”  
“Yeah, get out of here, we're having a family moment!” Henrietta laughed while sticking her tongue at him, but Carolina didn't like that.  
“Henrietta...”  
“Fine. I'll wait outside the door.”

 

Henrietta went outside to wait with Price, much to her displease, but she could easily see what was happening in the room. Carolina was now in the chair next to the bed, stroking the Director's hand and looking at him with a hopeful yet mostly pained expression. She stayed next to him for a few minutes. After a while, he seemed to be mumbling something in his sleep.  
“Sir?”  
“Alisuhn...”  
“No, it's me.” she tightened her grip on his hand “Carolina.”  
“Caer'lahna...” the Director blinked a couple of times as he woke up “Whawt ahr yuh doin' heah?”  
“I've come to see you. What happened?”  
“Yitz nun awv yo' bizniz”  
“I...I...” she didn't know what to say. It was clear that that reply offended her, but she still expected it and maybe that was what hurt the most.  
“Whoo todja uhbaht thes?!”  
“Sir, it's fine, I will not ask. I learned not to ask a long time ago.”  
“GUD.”  
“Alright...” she got up from the chair “Is there anything you want me to do befor--”  
“Ah wawnchoo tuh _lyeev_. Dizmyessed.”  
“...Yes sir.”  
She started heading to the exit, when her father suddenly spoke again.  
“Wayt.” Carolina turned around immediately “Whaer yis Aygeuhnt Teggses?”  
“...I don't know.” she sighed sadly. Of course he was going to ask about Tex.  
“Yiff ya syee heuh, tael heuh tuh cum heah.”  
“Last time I saw her, she said was going to be very busy and that she won't accept distractions.” she lied, not sure of what she wanted to prove “Of _any_ kind.”  
“Oh yuh? Thaen yeshuld tayke eggsaempul aen' git baek tho wohrk. Dizmyesst.”  
  
In the meantime, Henrietta was having a 'peaceful' conversation with Price.  
“So, what happened to you?”  
“I don't know what you are referring to.”  
“How come you're almost nice all of a sudden?”  
“I'm merely being polite. Agent Carolina does not deserve to be kept from seeing her father because of your incompetence.” he shrugged like he said the most natural thing. Asshole. But Henrietta merely thought it was pathetic of him and cackled.  
“You care about children? Since when?”

“It doesn't matter what I care about.”  
“Thank God for that! Wouldn't want to see the agents having to show morbid interest in decapitated puppets like you did...”  
“ _Excuse me_? I am doing what you claimed to be a nice action towards Agent Carolina. I'm afraid that if you shouldn't talk to me this way if you aim to encourage that behaviour.”  
“I thought you were a professional?” she followed her question with a grin, ready to taunt him “What is it, you're gonna finally free this galaxy from a monster and kill yourself if I give you a cookie to encourage you?”  
“Well, _I_ may do so, but the Director doesn't seem to need any cookies to take that kind of advice.”  
_Fuck_.  
“I-- Goddammit. You know what? I don't care about him anymore. I want him to fucking die already, so that I can run this shit and finally erase the evidence of all the crimes and start a legal course of action. Killing aliens and shit, you know....” she teasingly booped his nose “And you will be my lovely assistant, baby.”  
“Agent Connecticut's armour has not been retrieved.” he pointed out “The data contained in it could be crucial. While I'm not sure if it is evidence, but--”  
“Okay, whatever. Either way...I'm looking forward to when they put your little evil ass in jail.”  
“The Director will keep it company, then.” he hinted half a pout, to suggest he was so unamused he wouldn't even do a proper one. Henrietta preferred paying attention to his words, though.  
“That's kinda hot!”  
“I did not mean it that way...”  
“Too late!” she laughed “As much as I hate you, I have to admit...I wouldn't mind watching you in action.”  
“I...Thank you?”  
“They did warn me that Satan was gonna look cute, after all.”  
“You flatter me.” he smiled “I don't mind being watched while in action, by the way.”  
“Yeah, well, I don't think you actually get action.”  
“You'd be surprised.” he shrugged “It has still never occured that I didn't succeed whenever I tried to seduce someone.”  
“I don't buy that.” she scoffed immediately “I won't buy that in a million years.”  
“I'm sorry, but given you didn't even manage to seduce the Director I am not going to consider you an expert in the field.”  
“What do you mean 'even'? Like, you think he's easy or something?”  
“Why, is he not?” he _genuinely_ asked, baffling her.  
“I-- What the fuck? You're telling me that you think you could seduce him easily?”  
“Of course. All I would need to do is to stroke his--”  
“DON'T SAY IT.”  
“...Ego. I was going to say ego.”

“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“....Heh. Yeah, I knew that.”  
“ _Of course_.”  
“Why don't you give me a demonstration instead of talking?”  
“Gladly.”  
  
As soon as poor Carolina exited the room and walked away on her own, Price went back on the chair inside for Henrietta to enjoy the show.  
“Sir, how are you feeling?”  
“Ah'm awlraht...Ah...Ah dunno whah Ah dyieed dat.”  
“Don't worry about it, the important is that you are here and safe.”  
“No, Ah maesst uhp furreuhl thes tahm.” the Director shook his head “Ah olmosut laefchu uhloan tuh dyeeuhl wyeth awll awv thes.”  
“But you didn't.”  
“Sheeuh luhck.”  
“We should see this as an occasion.” Price smiled at him “We are closer to the objective, after all. We might have a long way to go still, but the progress we made...It couldn't have been possible without you, sir, and if you don't give up we could accomplish great results. That's why I have faith in you.”  
“Yin mee?! Gawd. Louhk uhp tuh sumwon baettah.” he scoffed, but Price didn't change expression.  
“I mean it.”  
“Uh.” the Director sat up and blushed, certainly flattered but also slightly uncomfortable “Thaenk yuh, Cownselauh.”  
“You're welcome.”  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Heh...Ah...Lyessuhn.” he curled his lips “Yer brellyuhnt. Nun awv tha thangs Ah've uhhcawmplisht wooduhve byeen pawssuhbol wyethat _yo'_ wourk, so yeet's nawt uhbaht myee. Aen' waeuhl...Sumtahmz Ah thank yuh shuld wourk fo' sumwon aeuhlse. Ah myeen, thaere's so muhch gud stuhf thaet yuh could byee doin' yinstead awv uhssyestien' meh wyeth cummettin' crahmz. Yif sumwon fahnds aht whawt tha prawdjict es doin', Ah shoodbee tha onley won thae're cawmin' fo'. Ah'm shore you too haev sumfin' ya caer uhbaht ahtsahd awv tha jawb aen' Ah'm rawben' ya awv dat. Yiet heeyu ahr, lyessuhnen' tuh aen' ol' maen whahn aen' nevah taykin' uh daye awff...”  
“Sir, it's not a problem for me. If I wasn't fine with this I wouldn't have agreed to keep working under different circumstances.” Price shook his head “Besides...I know that this project means a lot to you, and I want to be of assistance because it means a lot to me as well. You're not robbing me of anything, sir. On the contrary, it's thanks to you that I have had this great opportunity to make such an important discovery and contribution to science.”  
“Huh...Thaet's uh waye tuh louhk aet eet, Ah gas!” he laughed nervously, then squirmed slightly as Price took his hand, he wasn't creeped out – strangely enough – but he didn't expect it. Henrietta didn't know whether to wish that this 'seduction' attempt failed or not, but most importantly she didn't know what the hell she was watching.  
“I have been observing you all these years, I _know_ you are capable of great things. This project needs you...” he leaned slightly closer 'for emphasis' as he tightened the grip on the Director's hand “ _We_ need you. You have given us everyhing.”  
The Director was so touch starved that he enjoyed the hand holding more than he liked to admit, so he glanced away in shame as he too tightened his grip.  
“Ah wyesh thaet wuz tru.”  
“It is. Sir, I know that you had an argument with Miss Peckerman and I know that she meant a lot to you, but--”  
Woah. That took a turn Henrietta didn't like. How did that motherfucker know?! Was he listening to the audio of the taped hidden camera? What was his deal with that situation? What a creep...  
“Shie's raht, Cownselauh, aevrethang shie sed--”  
“She's not.”Price lifted his chin with his other hand “The only reason why she said what she said is that she wanted to hurt you for not doing what she wanted, because she knows you care...And she knows you're too hard on yourself.”  
“Pleez dun't lah tuh meh...” he whispered “Yer juhst tellin' meh whawt Ah wawnuh tuh heah...”  
“I'm telling you what you _need_ to hear: don't listen to her, you're not nearly as bad as you think you are. I wish you could look at yourself and see what I see.”  
_See what, a fine piece of_ _fresh_ _meat?_ Henrietta scoffed to herself, more and more angered by that disgusting scene, especially since the Director turned completely red. Price's fakeness was almost making her physically sick.  
“R-reuhlleh?”  
“Indeed.” somehow that snake manage to fake blushing “I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you as much as I should have--”  
“Ya kieddin'? Yoov byeen workin' so hahrd, nowun aeltz wooduhve maennidged tuh do whawt ya doo.”  
“But sir...”  
“Nah, Ah dun't wawnuh heeriet. Yoo've proovuhn yo'saeuhlf tuh be tha baest yin thes whoal gawddayum shiep.”  
“Thank you, sir.” Price let go of his hand and started caressing his chest, which he enjoyed much to Henrietta's discomfort “You've given me everything, I will do anything for you...”

The Director hummed in contentment, getting closer, and before the _horrifying_ happened Henrietta entered the room. Lesson learned, never ever defy Price again. He seemed annoyed at that interruption, too.  
“SSSSO...! Everything alright, now?”  
“HAI!” the Director was embarrassed and started speaking fast changing the subject, getting up from the bed “UH, YEAH, UH, AEVRETHANG'S FAHN, AEVRETHANG'Z AWLRAHT, AKSHULY YUHNO WHAWT AH SHOOD GIT AHT AWV HEAH AEN' GO BAEK TUH WOURK, THAET'S EGGSACTLEY WHAWT AH'M GAWNUH DO, YUH.”  
“Sit your ass down.” Henrietta groaned, rolled her eyes and then gave Price a disgusted look “And you...I bet you could talk shit even with a dick in your mouth, couldn't you?”  
Price got up and smugly greeted her as he walked away:  
“I'm afraid there is only one way to find out, madam. Now, with your permission, I have some...Interviews to make. I'll see you later.”  
Both of them watched him in shock, staying silent even after he was gone.  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“....”  
“Djieez.”  
“And to think you almost fucked that ass!”  
“WHAWT?! No Ah dyieed nut!”  
“Yeah, because I interrupted you...”  
“Shuht uhp!”  
“It's okay, _sir_. Heh. Should've known you've got an authority kink, you refer to yourself as a God on a fucking hourly basis.”  
“Whawt tha haell ahr yuh tawkin' uhbaht?!”  
“Oh, you know...”  
“Eeithuh waye, yeet dahsun't maettuh cuz Ah dun't wawnuh tawk tuh ya.”  
“Yeah, well, after seeing how you treated Carolina I don't want to talk to you either.”  
“Gud. Oh, bah tha waye, yoar faiyaud.”  
“Thank God some ass kissing can undo it easily, otherwise I'd be worried!”  
“YOU UHSSAWLTEUHD MEH!”  
“I did what?! What the fuck does that mean?! I didn't do anything to you, you consented and then started bitching halfway through, that's different.”  
“Thaet's...Thaet ayen't tru.”  
“Ah yeah? Prove it!” she promptly said back, but she was already starting to feel guilty. She had done anything wrong until...Well, until that moment. And now she had to be the abuser? No. It wasn't fair. She had to be allowed _one_ mistake. “Finally for once nobody will believe what you say. You're completely rotten. What you're doing is poisoning everything. It's poisoning _me_. I can't take this anymore...”  
“Yoar nawt yin puhsyeshun tuh saye thes kahnda thang, nah.”  
“Ah yeah? I fucked your dead wife last night!”  
“Thaet woulduhn't suhprahs meh!”  
“I didn't mean it that way! I fucked Tex!”  
“Ah dun't bahyeet!”  
“I did! She was my bitch! I'm glad you did pussy quality control during testing!”  
“Ah, so NAH yeet's uh smahrt ahdeuh byeecawz yit baenuhfyettuhd yoo?!”  
“Ugh. Whatever. I'm fucking leaving.”  
  
Henrietta left the room angrily and decided to wait for the rec room to be empty to have some fun by herself, without taking care of anyone. Carolina was pissed, Allison was dead – again - , and generally no one else's presence would've made her feel better in that moment. She couldn't even do classes or training because of having been fired. She did feel guilt but the accumulated anger of more thirty years was coming out a lot in the last two days, maybe because her body was now able to express it. She was losing everything, but she didn't care, because she was tired of one-sided commitments. She hated everyone, and now that she was as big as everyone else – well, bigger than everyone else, it was so clear to see that they had always been ungrateful. She wanted to leave the ship and make a new life on her own, hanging out with new people that actually loved and respected her. It was good to have herself as her first priority for once.  
At some point, seeing that neither her anger nor hes sexual frustration getting any better, she decided to go back to her room – in case she forgot the road, she just had to follow Tex's blood trail, Jesus fucking Christ – and bumped into Price on the way to it:

“Oh. It's you.”  
“Good evening. Any drama I should be aware of?”  
“Yes, Pamela Prati and Mark Caltagirone aren't getting married anymore.” Henrietta replied sarcastically, but Price nodded solemnly.  
“I wouldn't want to be rude, but with her embarrassingly high gambling debts I wouldn't be surprised if Mark Caltagirone was actually a fruit of her imagination used to get money on interviews.”  
“Wait, you know about that?”  
“No...I...Do not? That is just a prediction I made...Why, has that turned out to be true?”  
“Yeah...Damn, are you sure you're not psychic? You should get tested.”  
“Gossip aside, speaking of getting tested...”  
“ _Oh no_.”  
“Could you to please provide a sample of your DNA?”  
“What?! Why?!”  
“For science. I still have some of your feathers, I would like to make a comparison with a sample from your current form. I figure that our crew would find something useful in it.”  
“Woah, woah, woah. Why the FUCK are you collecting my feathers, you freak?!”  
“Does it even matter to you, at this point?” he shrugged.  
“No...” she sighed “I guess it doesn't.”  
“So would you like to collaborate?”  
“Absolutely not.”  
“May I ask why?”  
“I'll give you several reasons, you choose your favourite: one, because you're a weirdo and I hate you--”  
“Those are two reasons, madam.”  
“THREE, because you never shut the fuck up.”  
“...”  
“Four, you being the smartest person in here doesn't mean you're not a complete idiot.”  
“I'm afraid that says more about the rest of you rather than about me.”  
“Five, you're my subordinate and as such you need to stop sassing me.” she could still pull that card, he didn't know that Director fired her yet “Six, I _am_ going to kill you.”  
“Alright. Nevermind, then. I just felt I had to ask.”  
“Nu-uh, you're not gonna make it look like I'm not cooperative! Actually, you know what, here's my DNA.” she proceeded to spit in his eye “See what you can do with it.”  
He tried not to react despite being majorly angered by that humiliation, still he couldn't help but pout.  
“I wouldn't advise displaying this immature behaviour, Miss Peckerman, in order to take advantage of your authority you should be able to prove it first.”  
“I don't have to prove it to you, do I?” she laughed “I spit in your eye, you take it like a bitch and say 'yes madam'; I punch you in the face, you take it like a bitch and say 'yes madam'; I step on your stupid fucking head, you take it like a bitch and say 'yes madam', AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?!”  
Price sighed “...Yes, madam.”  
“Finally some compliance!”  
“I have _always_ been compliant.”  
“And what do you want, a fucking medal or something? You're just working!”  
“Someone has to.” he hinted the smuggest smirk, prompting Henrietta to snap.  
“WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU?!”  
“Bullying me will not compensate for your lack of control on all the other areas of your life.”  
“Well, how about _I_ act like a bitch just for fun, for a change?! You seem to entertain yourself a lot, with this pastime.”  
“Of course, go ahead, you don't need to ask for permission.”  
“I sure don't!” she barked back at him “I do what I want!”  
“ _Indeed_.”  
“Too bad for you that now I have a human body and I am perfectly able to ruin your life simply because I feel like it! Not my fault that you make me want to beat the crap out of you, to fucking gauge out your other eye, to push you against this wall so hard that I break it and rip this stupid uniform off you.”  
“I...I beg your pardon?”  
She lifted him, pushed him against the wall and kissed him. He looked shocked at first, and even if he didn't seem attracted to her in the slightest there clearly was something about that interaction that he enjoyed. Perhaps it was the dominance combined with the brute strength, either way he let her do and emitted a quiet pleased hum. Price kept looking up at her in silence as they both gasped for air.  
“You're speechless? That's a new one.”  
“Then...I assume it would be in your best interest if...If you kissed me more often.”  
Henrietta held his wrists tight in order to hurt him, and when he hissed in pain she violently threw him onto the floor, much to the delight of both, but Price kicked her away and ran into his room, teasingly turning around to wait for her to chase him. She charged him like a bull.

  
What happened after was...Hard to decipher. They both enjoyed it but it wasn't quite clear if it was a scene of sex or violence. They were the same thing, which was a completely new sensation for Henrietta, although Price probably always got off in such way. Henrietta would use her strength and Price would use improvised weapons combined with his knowledge of human anatomy to hit the right nerves, defending himself quite well for a scrawny man almost two feet shorter than her, but not well enough to completely keep his composure and hell, this was like when she had Tex all over again! Finally showing who's better, finally breaking that facade of perfection, finally taking charge properly. And those breathy little moans she earned from him repayed her of every injustice. After what was perhaps an embarrassingly long time – violent urges needed time to get satisfied – there they were, bleeding and panting.  
“Woah...Holy shit.”  
“Indeed.”  
“Hey, you okay in there?”  
“Yes.”  
“Mh. Too bad.”  
“Well...” he sat up “I'm going back to work now.”  
“You can stay if you want.”  
“Thank you, but I would prefer not to.”  
“In that case, I _order_ you to stay.” better take advantage of him not knowing, while she could. Price sighed.  
“Alright.”  
“Why are you in a hurry to leave?”  
“Because I would like to end this encounter as soon as possible.”  
“I thought you enjoyed it.”  
“Even so, that doesn't hold any significance.”  
“Of course it doesn't, you're _anything_ but my type.”  
“You are not my type either, for that matter.”  
“Hm...Hey, if I asked you a deep question, would you tell the truth? Just for one time.”  
“To be fair, I never lied to you.” he started readjusting the sheets “All my responses to you in the six years we have worked together have been at least partially true.”  
“You remember everything you and everyone else said in the last six years?”  
“Is that the deep question?” he arched an eyebrow.  
“I fucking hate you...Okay, my question is: why aren't you helping him?”  
“The Director?”  
“Yeah. Why aren't you helping him?”  
“He wants to sacrifice himself and give his countribution to the war. I believe the current course of action caters to both his goals and mine.” he shrugged.  
“He doesn't have to destroy himself to do this. I...I don't know what your goals are, but being an asshole is a waste of your talent!”  
“I beg to differ. If the Director healed, we wouldn't be making this much progress.”  
“Progress? How is this progress?”  
“Without a suitable candidate to handle a full AI, making fragments and pairing them with the right agent to complement their mental patterns and abilities on the field is the most valid solution efficiency wise.”  
“Valid? This is everything but valid.”  
“I pointed out that it is a valid solution efficiency wise. For that matter, I believe that for our galaxy's safety it would be best to do our duty or at least to further the scientific progress in order to make it possible and only after winning the war we can indulge in...Romanticizing the narrow-minded indignation of those who suddenly care for others' safety when they weren't ever ready to risk anything themselves...With all due respect.”  
“Wow. You _are_ smart: you just said the same shit that you say every time but you said it in such way that somehow I feel satisfied with the answer anyway.”  
“Glad I satisfied you again.” Price smirked.  
“Don't brag!” Henrietta 'lightly' punched his arm “Though I must say, maybe it's the fact that we're in bed or whatever, but there's always been a compliment that I have for you and since we don't get along I guess I should just say it now: I think you have a gift. Like, seriously, you are insanely good at what you do, and if you wanted you could use your talent to help so many people. You could save so many lives if you wanted and, well, I'm not even gonna ask you why you don't value that at this point. I just want to say...I wish I had that gift too. I wish I had the ability that you have.”  
Price looked genuinely surprised for a moment, maybe he wasn't used to genuine compliments.  
“Thank you. But, you see...It really took me plenty of practice, and sometimes my lack of competence has worsened the situation when I was younger, so I suppose it's not really a gift.”  
“Hey, it's fine. Everyone makes mistakes.” Henrietta shrugged.  
“That's...That's odd. It's not like you to excuse my mistakes.”  
“I know, right? You're barely human!”  
Henrietta cackled, Price glanced away in slight embarrassment.  
“That seems to be a common opinion.”  
“Well, duh? You're a fucking weirdo. Like, I know that you are 'in a professional environment' but outside of that have you _ever_ acted like a normal person?”  
“You are free to make assumptions if you need to, I would prefer not to disclose about my private life.” his voice as always didn't change, but there was some annoyance in his tone.  
“Then I'm going to assume you don't have one!”  
“Fine by me.”  
“You're so mysterious. It's almost sexy. Almost.”  
“Hm.”  
“But I _will_ break you!”  
“Good luck with that.”  
“What is it, you think I can't do it? You're not invincible, dude.”  
“In theory, everyone is capable of doing anything.” Price replied dismissively as he started to look for his underwear “However, they have to be able to handle the consequences of their actions.”  
“So you're admitting you're breakable.”  
“It would be unwise to have the illusion of being unbreakable. Still, you're too prone to blaming yourself, even when it's not your fault, hence why I believe you wouldn't be able to handle the consequences of breaking me.”  
“I'll take that risk, asshole!”

 

Price didn't reply, at which Henrietta pulled him back on the bed by wrapping an arm around his neck.  
“Want me to change the subject, babe?” she giggled as Price writhed in vain to get out of her grip “Ooh. Don't flinch, stay still! God, you're so soft. I wish I could touch you forever.”  
“Please don't.”  
Henrietta leaned closer and whispered in his ear:  
“Aiden?”  
He flinched again. Probably being called by his real name weirded him out, nobody seemed to even want to know what his name was.  
“W-what is it?”  
“Tell me I'm human.”  
“Why?”  
“You're the expert. Tell me I'm human.”  
“I...I'm not sure--”  
“It's an order! I don't want to go back to my old body. I want to talk to people, I want to bond with them, to prove that I have always been one of them. I want my love to reach them and heal them. I want to hold hands with Leonard, I...I want Carolina to call me 'mom'.”  
“You already had a biological family. You lost it, and that's alright. You don't have to make up for it with how you treat people.”  
Henrietta pouted and hugged him from behind laying her head over his shoulder and exhaled through her nose.  
“I'm not doing this because I want to make up for it.”  
“Your behaviour suggests otherwise.”  
“How?”  
“You can't love others' illnesses away.”  
“But I can make them feel better.”  
“Not necessarily. Even so, as unfortunate as it may be, some people truly are broken beyond repair.”  
“Even Leonard?”  
“As of now, yes.”  
“Bullshit!” she pulled away “You could save him if you wanted.”  
“I already explained my reasons for 'not saving him'.”  
“The professional ones, sure. But...Don't you care about him even a tiny little bit?”  
“Perhaps...Not everyone cares in the same way.”  
“Yeah, right, now torture is how you show affection?”  
“I'm afraid that would be none of your business.” the annoyance this time was noticeable.  
“I'm afraid you're gonna have to tell me anyway if you don't want me to smash your skull against the wall until there's nothing left of that cursed brain of yours.”  
Price rolled his eyes as he looked away. Then he bit his lip, trying to decide whether it was worth it to say what he wanted to say.  
“ _Would you still want to break me if I confessed you that I, too, am broken beyond repair?_ ”  
Henrietta was shocked. She didn't expect that question.  
“...Huh? What the hell does that mean, why are you asking me that?”  
“It's just a hypothetical question...” he shook his head.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Of course. I am really curious to know how you would behave in said scenario.”  
“Heh...Are you okay?”  
“Excuse me?!”  
Ah yeah, asking if he was okay, peak offensive behaviour. He hated that shit, apparently.  
“I asked if you're okay. If you need to tell me something, go ahead.”  
“I'm fine.”  
“No, you're n-- _oh God_.” Henrietta gasped “Oh my God, I get it. You're broken and you studied so that you could learn how to fix yourself but you can't and that's why you break everyone else, so that they won't notice.”  
“That's...Romantic, but incorrect.”  
“What's the correct version, then?”  
Price didn't answer, so she insisted.  
“Who hurt you?”  
“Excuse me, what are you trying to achieve?”  
“Well, I--”  
“I thought you wanted to do this by yourself instead of asking for clues.”  
What a fucking asshole, she was just trying to help even if he was the devil incarnate, what more did he want? Henrietta tried not to clench her fists and decided express her anger with words, since she was quite good at it. Also maybe she could actually manage to break him.  
“Maybe I have fun seeing how you react, must feel very weird to have someone even pretend to care about you!”  
“Good thing that now you count as a person, then.” he dismissed with an unimpressed expression.  
“Yeah, good thing! I bet not even your family likes you.”  
“I'm sorry but I feel that in light of recent events you're not in condition to insult my family life.”  
“Pull that card how you want, doesn't change shit. Carolina still likes me. Tex likes me, most of the other agents like me.”  
“I could easily change that.”  
“Ah yeah? Then I can easily change everyone's opinion on you by uncovering what you've done.” she grinned evilly “Who do you think gave those files to CT?”  
“Don't you mean uncovering what _we_ have done? You're a human, now, and you have to own up to your actions. If I risk ending up in jail again, then so will you.”  
“Wait, again?!”  
“Let's change the subject.”  
“You want to go back to talking about how much you're obsessed with your job because you need a distraction from the fact that nobody will ever not be disgusted by you and think of you as a person? Fine by me!” Henrietta cackled.  
“Is this an attempt at breaking me? If so, it's a poor one.”  
“Well, of course it's a poor one, you had to study others to see how people are supposed to react. Are you sure you're not part alien or something? Because to me you're most likely a squidhead with a misleading phenotype!”  
“I'm sorry you have never witnessed someone behaving professionally and you're surprised to the point that it is an alien concept to you. Would you be more comfortable if I sank to your level?”  
“Actually? Yeah. Sink to my level. Do it, bitch, I wanna see you act unprofessional.”  
“...We just had sex. That's unprofessional enough.” he replied nervously, still sitting but looking around to find his clothes among the mess they made.  
“I don't know, you seemed pretty compliant, to me! Maybe that's your thing, you like being put back in your place.”  
“Indeed, madam. If you had a place here, I would make sure to return the favour.”  
“Oh, really? I bet this is only where you are the least out of place. You don't really fit in anywhere else, unlike me.”  
“...I know that you are aware of the importance of fitting in. I wish you were more cooperative because of it, but it's as if you didn't learn...” Price crossed his arms “I don't understand why you are choosing to stay in an environment that forces you to be an outcast when you could easily get to a safer place. Standing out is very dangerous...”  
“Why, I do it for Leonard and Carolina, they are my family after all! Like, okay that I've been trying to offend you and stuff, but I guess you still understand the concept of family, right? Like, even if you don't act like a person you have to come from somewhere and have a family, don't you?”  
Price glanced away once again.  
“I know, I know, you don't 'disclose about your personal life' et cetera et cetera. Whatever. God, it's hard to even imagine you having a family anyway.”  
“Right...” he lowered his head.  
“ _That_ 's the one thing that offended you?” she cackled.  
“I'm not offended.”  
“And yet you're getting tense, you fucking weirdo. What is it, are y--”  
“I've never had one.”  
_Fuck._  
“Oh. I--”  
“So I won't be able to address any assumption of that kind.”  
“Oh, God. Fuck, I didn't know.”  
“It's alright.”  
“Man...I feel like such a bitch all of a sudden.”  
“I bet!”  
“Heh. There there...” she didn't know what to say, so she playfully kissed his neck “I'll gladly be your mommy if you let me. You deserve a good spanking, after all.”  
Price lightly pushed her away “That's such an inappropriate response...”  
“Aw, come on, what was I supposed to say? You won't believe me if I show concern, will you?”  
“You don't have to show concern for me. Being genuinely concerned for a few people makes you a better person than pretending to be concerned for everyone, for that matter.” he shrugged “We never got along.”  
“I know, but...Maybe I shouldn't have treated you like shit. Like, I know you're an asshole, everyone knows it, God knows that you'll never change, but I had to figure that if you're like this there is a reason. I should've known that you've suffered.”  
“Suffering is a big word.” he said as if to state that he was perfectly normal “Sure, I wasn't always high functioning and I might have encountered some difficulties at the beginning, but I learned how to behave. Even so, it's not with pity that you'll win me over.”  
“It wouldn't even be fair, but...I'm sorry, okay? Just...Allow me to make up for it.”  
“How?”  
“You're always working so hard.” she caressed him “Just sleep, I'll make sure no one bothers you. Let me take care of you.”  
“Alright.” he replied softly “It would be nice to be taken care of for once. I am...Very tired.”  
“I know, babe. Just sleep.”

 

As he laid down and turned his back to her, Henrietta took advantage of the situation and jammed the other chip she had taken from the trophy room in his neck. He started shaking like he was having a seizure, and then disappeared under the covers. Was he going to shapeshift too? Or was something different going to happen?  
She lifted the sheet and holy shit, there he was!  
“ _Meow_?”  
“...What?”  
A cat. A fucking cat, really?  
Didn't really look much different from the human form, he was a small black cat with one scary yellowish copper coloured eye staring at Henrietta, the eyelids of other one closed from that one time she pecked it out of his face.  
“Hah! One less problem to worry about.” she put on her underarmour suit and decided to 'let him free' in the lower floors so that he wouldn't bother her. She spent some more time alone on her own and then decided to go to his room to watch everyone through the cameras. Nothing of interest, until Maine spotted the cat and decided to grab it and take it with him. Henrietta followed his movements with the cameras. He knocked on Washington's door, holding Price-cat behind his back with one hand.  
“Hi.” Wash greeted him with not much enthusiasm.  
“Hwrrrawrh. Hawwra rawrrrqqqssshhhh. Hhhwherrghrrl!”  
“You brought a what?! Maine, you know presents won't make me feel better...” he sighed “I just need some time...I miss Connie.”  
“Awwwooo...” Maine commented sadly.  
“I know, I know, I just...”  
“Hrrrrgghhhh.” he decided to show him his present anyway “Hhhwrrah!”  
What followed was the most high-pitched screeching sound that Wash ever produced, to the point that at some point North came to check what was going on.  
“What was that noise?”  
“CAT!” Wash was now sitting on his bed with sparkling eyes, holding Price-cat tight in his arms, much to his discomfort “I HAVE A CAT NOW!”  
“Aww, look at that little guy! Hi! Aren't you the cutest thing?” North petted his head “How are you gonna name him?”  
“Hm, I don't know yet. He's a Bombay cat, maybe I should think of a punny name?”  
Price-cat didn't seem to like the idea as he hissed.  
“Hhwhergl?”  
“That's a good one, but I think we can do better. North?”  
“Well, he has only one eye, I think you should call him York.”  
North, Maine and Wash laughed. Price-cat hissed louder.  
“York-cat!” Wash lifted the cat to look in his eyes – well, in his single eye, and then laid him on his lap “I love it.”  
“Ahah, yeah, it's a pretty good name. But wait...Are you sure you want to keep it?”  
“Of course! How hard can it be? He's so cute and he's even tiny for his breed!”  
“Meow?”  
“Yeah, but he's black.”  
“ _MEOW_.”  
“Are you sure you want any more bad luck, Wash?” North continued, although jokingly “I hope the Director doesn't find out because that can't be good.”  
“Oh...Right...” he sighed, not even noticing that Price-cat jumped down and ran out of the room until he reached out to pet him “Hey, where did York-cat go?”  
“I thought it was _your_ cat?”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Maybe we should find him another name.”  
Henrietta facepalmed: what a bunch of idiots, no wonder she needed alone time!  
  
The morning after she decided to go visit the Director. He was going to go back to work soon, but she figured she could take advantage of his stay to apologize. She had to admit that she was horrible to him. Perhaps he was never going to forgive her and he had all the right to do so...She was very nervous about it, but she had to face the issue immediately.  
“Hey. How are you?”  
“Oh.” he sounded disappointed “Yeet's you”  
“Yeah...Listen, I am sorry f--”  
“Ahlisuhn dyieeduhnt cum fo' me.”  
“That's not your wife, Leonard.” she made sure to keep a kind tone while pointing that out “She drinks motor oil for breakfast!”  
“So dyieed Ahlisuhn whaen shie haed praegnuhnceh crayvenzs! Huh...Mayebe thaet's whah Caer'lahna's lahk that...Dayum, do yuh reemaembuh whaen--”  
“Leonard...”  
“Ah kno, Ah kno...” he shook his head “Aekshuleh, Ah dun't reemaemburet eethuh.”  
“Huh?”  
“Whaen Ah wawtch thaet veedyeouh...Ah heah heuh, Ah syee heuh, buht shie dahsuhnt fyeeuhl reeuhl aenyemoah. You awlwayez tould meh thaet maemmuryeh's tha keeye, buht Ah dun't reemaembah whawtetz lahk...Tuh syee heuh, tuh heeah heuh voyce, tuh tahch heuh, tuh fyeeuhl heuh, tuh byee wyeth heuh...Ah caen't ryeemembuh whawt heuh lyeps tayesteuhd lahk, hah heuh haeh faelt lahk whaen Ah brayedeuhd et fo' heuh...Nun awv thaet. Whah yis maemuhryee tha keye whaen Ah kyeep fuhgaettin'?”  
“You're not forgetting, it's just--”  
“Ah am! Mayebe Ah juhst caen't doo et raht. Thaet's whah eevuhn whaen shie stahrts tuh lahk myee shiez nevuh foullye baek...Buht yiffitz reeuhlleh heuh thaen shie duhzn't lahv myiee aenyemo'...Thaet's mah puhnieshmuhnt fo' nawt ryeemaembuhrin'. No maedah howahd Ah trah. Yeetztha lyeest Ah couhddoo aeftuh nawt sayvin' heuh... Aen' Ah'm so sawrreh buhtah juhst...Ah juhst caen't git heuh raht, yievuhnef thaerz nuthin' Ah wawn' mo' thaen tuh bee wyeth heuh uhgaen...”  
Henrietta was heartbroken but how he really meant those words.  
“What are you saying? That's not a punishment.”  
“Yassetez! Ah shooud byiee deuhd.”  
“And what about the Counselor's encouraging pep talk? Are you gonna just abandon the project?!”  
“Ah dun't wawnuh lyeev aeneh awvyoo, buht...Ah juhst caen't. Ah haev byieen waytin', Ah haev byieen doin' anyethin' Ahcouhd, Ah juhst-- Ah juhst wawnuh byie wyeth heuh uhgaen.”  
“But--”  
“Awl tha thangs yuh saed tuh meh. Wyee bouth kno theyre tru. So mayebe Ah wyeuhll juhst...Lyeev. Ah hopyawl caen fuhgyev meh. Ah houp _shie_ caen fuhgyeev miee...Whaen Ah syee heurrugaen.”  
The project had to end, but not like this...Not like this...  
“I-- What?! You can't kill yourself! How are you going to do that now anyway?”  
“Haennyie...Yoovbyeen bah mah sahd fo' awl thes tahm. Ah wawnchu tuh doo et.”  
“Wh-wh-what?!” she gulped.  
“Ah'm baeggien' ya.”  
“You want me to kill you?! You can't ask me to do that!”  
“Yitzgahnuh byowlraht. Pleez. Eetuhl mayke meh haeppeh moah thaen aenyethin' aeuhltz.”  
It was unbearable to hear him talk like that, to think he actually thought he deserved to die, that he thought that dying was the solution, and just when Henrietta thought it couldn't get any worse, he kept begging in an even more desperate way.  
“Heh...Effya styeuhll wawnt, Ah caen...Ahlletcha doo aenyethin' ya wawnt tuh meh...”  
_God_. He thought she hated him to the point that giving her the possibility to hurt him in exchange for that favour would have worked. Was he really that blind of all the love and good moments of the past years?  
“Leonard, I--”  
“Aenyethang. Awawnoppoze. Ah prawmyess.”  
Henrietta sighed and closed her eyes. She had to find a rational solution to end that tragedy. Preferably, all the tragedies.  
“Will I be the new director of the project who decides what to do with everything, including our Ais?”  
“Yas. Aeverethiña wawnt.”  
“I...”  
“Yeetzokaye. Ah aem yo'z.”  
Henrietta reluctantly and got closer to him, wrapping her hands around his neck.  
“Kyeuhll meh.”  
She nodded and started tightening her grip, growing more and more shocked with the feeling of his eyes staring at her and his neck so warm and alive being compressed between her hands. The worst part is that he really seemed to want it, and kept begging, almost moaning.  
“Kyeuhll m-meh...K-k-kyeuhll meh...Kyeuh-ll....”  
“N-NO! I CAN'T!” she let him go, at which he started coughing and she covered her eyes with her hands “I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I can't!”  
“Whah...” he panted “WHAH?!”  
“I--”  
“Ah trahsted ya, Haennyie. Ah fuhckien' trahsteuhdja.”  
“I'm sorry...”  
“GOUHWAYE.”  
On the way out, she accidentally stepped on something. Judging by the yowling and scratches that followed, it was Price-cat's tail. She just kicked him away because she wasn't in the mood to deal with his bullshit so he just entered the room in response. She heard the Director say something while she was still close enough to hear.  
“Gawd, kyetteh, yer thamost deemawnec loukin' thang Ah've syeen tuhdaye...Aekshuleh, yanowhawt? Ah'm nawt shorehoo buht yuh reemahnd myee awv sumbahdye.”  
Henrietta couldn't help but cackle at that.  


Speaking of Price, what Henrietta didn't take into account was that it was still very important for the agents to have their counseling sessions, so she decided to replace him last minute and well...Maybe she wasn't exactly made for the job...  
  
“Oh...Hello. I, uh, didn't know you did counseling sessions as well.” York laughed nervously.  
“Why, do you have a problem with that?”  
“No, no, absolutely!”  
“Hm...Is there something that you are hiding from Carolina, perhaps?”  
“What? No! No, I...I...”  
“Do you tell her everything?”  
“Well, everything might be a big word.”  
“Why?”  
“I don't know, I can't be sure I actually told her everything, you know...Time passes, and we forget the conversations and--”  
“Why, are your conversations with Carolina not important enough to be remembered?”  
“Well, not all of th--”  
“THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT ANSWER, YORK.”  
  
“Everyone keeps mocking me because of my name...And I, eh, I try to laugh along, but sometimes it's hard...”  
“Yeah, whatever. Who are you?”  
“Parts.”  
“Ohhh! You're the idiot that goes around calling himself Private Parts! No wonder everyone laughs at you, you dumbass!”  
“But I am a private!”  
“No you're not, we don't really have regular ranks in here.”  
“Well, no, but when we're stationed outside the ship we do.”  
“Okay, so use your first name instead of Private Parts. What's your first name?”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...Willy.”  
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!” Henrietta laughed incontrollably “Willy 'Private' Parts! That's a good one!”  
“What's so funny? That's really my name!”  
“Oh.”  
  
“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” it was ironic that Florida said that “I haven't seen you in a long while, Miss Peckerman!”  
“Yeah, you're kinda creepy, so I've been trying to avoid you as much as I can, honestly.”

He wasn't offended. He just stayed silent and smiled. Creepily.  
“You're...You're not pissed?”  
“I'm cool as a cucumber!”  
“Heh...Of course you are.”  
“May I ask for how long are you going to replace the Counselor?”  
“I, uhh, I don't know. Just for a short while, I think. Why, what do you have to discuss with him that you can't say to me?”  
“Oh, you know!” he winked.  
“No...? I...Don't know?”  
“I see.” Florida leaned closer “Can you keep a secret?”  
“Oh God, who did you kill?!”  
“It's not that!” he laughed “He was my college professor and he hired me as a joke, and during these sessions we like to reminisce the good old days!”  
“What? Really?”  
“Sure! Oh, you should have seen us back then. He always complimented how I gained ground working my butt off for extra credit, if you know what I mean!”  
“Oh, okay...Wait, what?!”  


“You see, actually...” York interrupted himself with a sigh “Actually sometimes it's hard to talk to her. Carolina is always so obsessed with the Director and the leaderboard that even when I try to distract her she always brings it up and well...We can't ever have fun. Like, ever. I just want her to be happy and have a good time.”  
“Mh. Okay, that's a cool enough answer and I will not kill you for now.”  
“Thanks.” he replied sarcastically “Can I ask something, if it's not too personal? Has something happened to the Director? I haven't seen him at all lately and Carolina seems more worried than usual but she won't tell me anything.”  
“He's fine. He's just spent a couple of days having, uh, medical procedures for a thing but nothing serious. He's gonna be back very soon.”  
“Oh, good. Is there something I can do to make Carolina worry less?”  
“You keep doing what you do, I'm going to organize a family dinner.”  
“Are you sure it's going to work?” York was worried.  
“You're kidding? It's gonna be awesome.”

 

Dinner time came and both the Director and Carolina were desperately trying to glance away from each other in complete awkwardness while waiting for dinner to be served at the table.  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Ah wudlak tuh pointaht daet thes wuz nawt mah ahdeuh.”  
“Somehow I had understood that.”  
“Juhst beecawz wyeeuhre haevin' dyeennuh yeet dahsuhnt myeen yoaruhlahtzuhaev dat aedetude. Ya bedah eeatcho gawddayum greenz whaen theyuhrahv.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“It was my idea.” Henrietta walked in and sat at the table with them.  
“Whah...”  
“Because I wanted to see my family together and have a regular dinner for once? Am I fucking allowed to have one decent dinner the way I want?! Plus, check this out!” she snapped her fingers “Waiter? Hurry up!”  
A newly human Price wearing a waiter uniform wheeled in a cloche, much to Henrietta's delight as she whistled at him.  
“Oh thaeryu ahr, Cownselauh, haevuhnt syeenyu enawhayul. Wheauh weauhyoo?”  
“I have always been here, sir.”  
“I transformed him into a cat to get rid of him, hoping someone would eat him or crush him, but then I needed someone to help me with making dinner. Simple.”  
A moment of silence followed. The Director squinted.  
“Maykin' diennuh's nawt enhis jawb duhscrepshun.”  
“Well, yeah, but I know you can't kill him, do you remember what happened last time when the cooking staff messed up your order?”  
_A flashback played in the Director's mind: he was holding a staff member's head between two slices of bread.  
“WHAWT AHR YOU?!”  
“An idiot sandwich, sir.” the poor man cried.  
“Aen' nah yer gawnuh git uh knahckol saendwyetch!”  
“Sir, please! Have mercy!”  
“MEUHCYE'S FO' THA WEEAK!”_  
“And then I found that guy dead in a puddle of blood.”  
“Wye're at woah, Haennyie: yiff yuh caent suhvahv sumwon bashien' yo' skuhll opuhn wyeth thaer bae haendz eevuhn yin uh seveuhlahzd cawnteuhkts yuh juhst duhnt _deeseuhve_ tuh suhvahv! Yeetz priedeh muhch naechurol suhlaekshun aetthes point.”  
“He makes a very compelling argument, madam.” nodded Price.  
“Whatever. You look great in this uniform, by the way”  
“Thank you.” he gave her a forced smile “I hope you are going to find your meal appealing as well.”

 

He lifted the cloche and uncovered a chicken. The Director and Carolina didn't know how to react. Henrietta growled at him.  
“You sick fuck...!”  
“Would you like me to prepare something else?” he 'politely' asked while cutting it painfully slowly.  
“No need, I wouldn't want you to get your pretty uniform dirty”  
“I don't mind getting dirty.” he smiled creepily as he served dinner to everyone.  
“Yeah, I bet you don't! And I don't either.”  
Henrietta brought a chicken leg to her mouth and simply started eating it, to the surprise of anyone else. Carolina was particularly disturbed by that scene. She turned to her father.  
“Um...What is happening?”  
“Ah dun't eevuhn wawnuh kno aet thes poyint.”  
Henrietta grinned “Why, don't you think I picked a good outfit for him?”  
“Duznt mayke saense tuh myee, yiffya wawnna doo theez thangshu gawtuh go hahrdauh, Ah wooduhve pouht hyem yinna mayed ahtfyeet cuz _thaet_ woulduhve mayduh stayetmunt.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Ah myeen: Haennyiee, whahyintha HAEUHLL ahr yuh eedin tchiekkuhn? Thaetz maesst uhp.”  
“Yeah, right.” she sucked her fingers quite grossly “As if cannibalism was among the worst things any of us has done!” she cackled  
“...Wh...What?” Carolina was even more disturbed now.  
“You'll undestand when you're older.”  
“Heh...Hah! That...That's funny.”  
“Yah, waeuhll, dunno 'baht worstthangz buht...Crayezay stuhff? Shore thaerzbien plenyovdat! Man, Ah've syeen so muhch crayezee stuhff awn thesshiep Ah cuhd wrahthuh bouk!”  
“It's a good idea.” Carolina saw the opportunity to change the subject “Got a title?”  
“Hm...”  
“...”  
“Mayebe Ah caen't wrahthuh bouhk.”  
A long moment of silence followed.  
“Do you have any more requests?” asked Price.  
“Juhst sieet wyeth uhs. Loukin' aetcha bean' naeggst tuhtha tayble aen' nawt eatin' aennyethang lahk uh dawg yis duhpraessin'.”  
“I...” he reluctantly sat down “Thank you, s-”  
“Shudduhp.”  
  
Henrietta threw a bone at him, laughing.  
“There, good boy, do you want my leftovers?”  
Carolina rolled her eyes.  
“Just in case this family dinner wasn't getting awkward enough...”  
“Aw come on!” she pouted “At least he doesn't have a maid outfit on.”  
“Yeah, I don't really want to think about it right now, can someone pass me the salt?”  
“Justin Case, ready for duty!”  
_Of course_ Justin Case arrived, enthusiastically as always:  
“Maid outfit of humiliation, you say? I can ask Agent York to give me his, I saw him wearing it last night!”  
Everyone turned too look at Carolina.  
“I really would like someone to pass me the salt, please...”  
“Here.” Henrietta passed her the salt “I'm so proud of you, girl!”  
Carolina laughed nervously. Case intervened.  
“Do you need me to be your waiter?”  
“Oh, there's no need.” Price shook his head “I was serving and--”  
“Yes, please.” Carolina cut him off “We really would like you to be our waiter for tonight.”  
Henrietta was outraged when she saw Carolina smile at Price. Why the hell did she like that bastard? To think that she even hugged him...What the hell was wrong with her? Did she actually believe that he was taking care of her father? Because he clearly wasn't.  
“This was supposed to be a family dinner.” Henrietta rolled her eyes.  
“So wait.” Case was puzzled “Do I have to leave or not?”  
“I'm not talking about you, Case.”  
“Stop it.” Carolina elbowed her, but Price didn't mind.  
“No, it's-- it's fine, Agent.”  
“Whah ahr you aectin' lahk dat? Ah toldem hie caen syeet wyeth uhs.”  
“Yeah, but did you ask _me_ if I wanted him to sit with us?”  
“Ah'll aeskya whaen Ah caer!”  
“WOAH. Never fucking talk to me like that again!”  
“The gold star employee of Project Freelancer, ladies and gentlemen...” Price mumbled quietly, making Carolina snicker, but Henrietta heard him.  
“What is it, you're mad because I took your gold star?”  
“That is not what I said, madam.”  
“Judging by the petty way you behave, I'd say you are. Wait...” a grin appeared on her face “Did I perchance take your gold star twice?”  
“Oh, very clever.” he replied in his most unamused tone “But according to that insinuation wouldn't my gold star be something that I willingly gave to you?”  
“I don't know, sounds like you lost it to me either way!”  
“Whawt tha haell ahr y'awl baebblin' uhbaht?!” he turned to Price “Cownselauh, Ah'll mayke yuh uh gouldstah uhgaen yiffya mayke thes traynewraek stawp.”  
“That's not how it works, Leonard...” commented Henrietta. Carolina shook her head and just kept eating.  
“Oh. Ah gitit. Yeet's uh playe wyeth goldstah gaye. Tha djouke's thaet yoar gaye juhst cuz yuh dun't wawnuh slyeep wyeth heuh?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Thaen myee too.” he poured himself some wine “Tha fuhck.”

Justin Case raised his hand.  
“Permission to make a cock joke, sir?”  
“Peuhmyesshun deenahd.”  
“Aw, man!”  
“Could we please restore an acceptable level of maturity?” Price sighed.  
“Okay, but I have another one in me.” nodded Henrietta.  
“Go ahead.”  
“Gayden Price.”  
He seemed utterly unimpressed. Everyone else was puzzled.  
“Ah dun't eevuhn git dat won.”  
“It's a play on Aiden Price, sir. She just added 'gay' in front of my name.” he shrugged “Nothing new, everyone called me that when a classmate of mine flashed her breasts in hopes of getting a reaction out of me and I wasn't impressed.”  
“Wayet. Ahryoo aekshuly gaye?”  
“Me?”  
“Yuh.”  
“Does it matter?”  
“No? Juhst kyooreeuhs.”  
“Well.” apparently that question rubbed Price in the wrong way “If it doesn't matter, then why are you curious?”  
“Ah dunno, Ah gas thaetz juhst sumfin' Ah shooduhve pyeeked awn afteuh awll thes tahm.”  
“With due respect, I believe that if anything you should've picked up on my name, sir.”  
“Awlraht, gud poyint, buht yif sumwon, aenyewon sez homophoubec thanz, breng 'em tuh myee aen' Ah'll kyeull 'em. Yakno hah Ah fyeeuhl uhbaht thaet stuhf...Ah'll tawluhrayte woah crahmz buht nawt homouphobeeauh.”  
“You can tolerate war crimes?!” Henrietta got mad immediately and threw a dish at him“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”  
“WHAWT THA FUHCK YIS WRAWNG WYETH _YOU_ , DIDJA JUHST THRO UH DYESH AET MEH?!” he yelled back as he threw a dish back at her.  
Justin leaned closer to speak to Carolina.  
“Are they always like this?”  
“I don't even want to know.” she got up, now talking to everyone “I'm not hungry anymore. I'll go do some training.”  
“Sit down, Carolina!” Henrietta called her “You're not the problem.”  
“Well, I'm not in the mood to see my family fight, so--”  
“Agent Carolina.” Price reassured her “I am sure we can find an alternative solution.”  
“Right, you're the expert.” she sat back down “What did you do when your parents were fighting? Cause I guess they fought too, all parents do...”  
“ _Oh_.”  
Henrietta remembered that talk they had in bed and thought of all the possible tragic implications. God, sometimes like felt like a moving creature that tried to step on her while having a seizure and shaming her for experiencing it. What the fuck was up with the atmosphere changing with no criteria whatsoever? The events were on drugs, man.  
“Well...I don't have many memories of my parents, but yes, they did occasionally have their...Outbursts.”  
“I thought you said you never had a family?” Henrietta raised an eyebrow.  
“Well, I was barely eight years old when they both...Had a domestic accident.”  
“What happened?”  
“Unfortunately, nothing the police could prove, and I merely had to adapt to the circumstances.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Come to think about it, there is some business I need to take care about. Please excuse me.”  
  
Everyone waved at him awkwardly as he walked away through the corridor nearby, then Henrietta took a piece of bread and followed him.  
“Woah, what are you going to do?”  
“Nothing, really, I just wanted to remove myself from that situation. Please go enjoy your family dinner.”  
“Yeah, uhh, maybe my comment about you not belonging to the family event was uncalled for, but I still don't want you to ruin it.” she bit a piece of her bread and kept talking with her mouth full “You were supposed to serve and leave.”  
“That was what I had planned to do. I am not interested in family dinners.”  
“But you're interested in fucking up Carolina, and for some reason that for the life of me I can't understand she seems to like you. So I warn you, if you touch a single hair on her head I am going to fuck you up so much you're gonna wish you had a mommy to go cry to!”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Okay, listen--”  
“Agent Carolina is free to like whoever she wants.”  
“Yeah, as long as her likes and dislikes benefit you!”  
“The things that benefit me are the same that benefit the project. Not everyone has...Side interests.”  
“Are you calling me a traitor or are you just admitting you're boring?”  
Henrietta laughed, but judging by the evil glint in Price's eyes it was a bad move.  
“ _You didn't seem so bored when I ripped off your wing_.”  
“Okay, you know what?!” she was so enraged by that comment that she removed the elevator door with her bare hands “THAT'S IT! DIE, YOU WORM!”  
She shoved the bread in his mouth and pushed him down the elevator pit. A muffled whimper and a thud followed.  
“WHAWT THA HAELL WUZ DAT NOYZ?”  
“Don't worry about that.”  
She realized only too late the possible consequences of that action, and strangely enough she found herself praying that he wasn't dead. She took a deep breath. She decided that that was the last time she was going to fuck up. Now she had to fix all the massive damage she had done in the previous days. That night, she decided to write a letter for Allison.  


“Dear Allison,  
I'm writing you this letter because ever since he brought you back I have never really spoken to you. Maybe because I didn't know what to say or how to say it, maybe because it hurt too much. Either way, if only to get the weight off my chest, even if you don't want to listen to what I have to say – which I would understand – I just want to tell you that I am sorry. Sorry for all the times I blamed you, for all the times I envied you, for all the times that I was selfish. I know I'm ready to say it now because once I got the opportunity to have a human body to finally help I got blinded by everything you represent and tried to compete with it.  
I can't love Leonard's depression away because I can't love your death away, and maybe it wouldn't even be right if I could. It hit me because it's not only about him, it's about Carolina as well. You know how much I loved my children and how much I cared for them, how despite everything I wasn't able to save them, and after what happened to you I just couldn't bear not being able to save Carolina. So I did all I could do, I did even more than that, but it was never going to be enough because I wasn't a person. No matter what I did, I could never be considered her mother and not even those who praised my efforts recognized me as such. Yet Leonard was still her father even if he tried so hard to stay away from her, even if he neglected her and mistreated her, because she reminded him of you and of how things should have been, you were still her mother even if you were never there. And even after almost twenty years, that hasn't changed. He's still her father and you're still her mother. I am...An abomination who's just lucky enough to be useful sometimes, who acts human but isn't, who has a family but doesn't, who tries to save the day and fails everytime. Sometimes you sound like this too, lately, but then he powers you down, he erases and modifies your memories, he builds you and tears you apart and rebuilds you again, he hurts himself to come back to you when he sees you don't come back to him. He loves you more than anything, and he still can't get you right. Sometimes I see him watch that video, the one of the last time he saw you, right after I took Carolina back home. Because like you always said, when you don't say goodbye you're not really gone, so he holds onto that memory, because that's all that's left of you. I've always thought of Carolina as a part of you, thought that if I kept her alive I would have kept you alive as well, and on a practical level maybe I was even right, so I held onto her because she was everything that was left of the hope I had, I thought that if I helped her grow up into the best person I could make her then I would have paid my debt. I had to take your place.  
I was so obsessed with making up for the pain I have failed to prevent that I made it about me, I made it about working, made it about saving people without ever telling them that it's okay to feel sad. I have always kept myself busy to the point that I never mourned you...But I miss you. And I love you, with all of my heart.  
I hope these words reach you, wherever you are, and that you are happy and safe.  
Rest in peace.  
Your best friend,  
Henrietta.  
  
  
Goodbye.”  
  
After writing the letter, Henrietta burnt the paper and scattered the ashes in space, staring in contemplation. She enjoyed the view for a while, for once that she was big enough to look through those windows, but in the end she did what was right. She took off her shapeshifting implant and destroyed it. It was the least she could do to pay her debt towards all the people she hurt or even inconvenienced while in human form. It was cathartic, and for once after a very long while she was happy to see herself as a hen, she didn't feel poisoned anymore. She could be herself, without having to compensate for anything. No rage, no abuse of power, nothing. Just herself was enough.


	19. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henrietta's story comes to an end: back to her chicken form, Henrietta has restored her morals, but Sigma still has bad intentions. She wants to stop him, but something goes horribly wrong. Her service will always be appreciated nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: animal cruelty, animal death.

“ _Henrietta!”_  
Allison called her from the couch she was sitting on. They were in their old apartment, and Allison was just back from training, still wearing her military uniform. She seemed serene.  
“I read your letter.” she patted the seat next to her “Come here!”  
She seemed disappointed when Henrietta, unable to move, didn't come to her.  
“Come here! I swear, I won't get mad. It's alright. I forgive you. I forgive you...For everything, but please...Don't say goodbye...I hate goodbyes...”

 

Henrietta felt her heart race and when she woke up from that dream she felt a sudden sharp pain in her lower half. As she looked down, she noticed she had just laid an egg, after...Well, a while. It had already been a while before Carolina was born! In chicken years, Henrietta was about 310 years old, after all. Not that age mattered at that point, it was the trauma that made her stop laying eggs. Ironically enough, life getting more and more horrible for her seemed to have just reversed that. That plus the health unit.  
Then she heard it. The egg was hatching! How was that possible? She had been feeling strange in the latest days but she surely knew she couldn't possibly be expecting. Yet there it was, a small baby chick. Could the egg hatching so soon have something to do with the enhancement? It seemed like a somewhat reasonable explanation, but as far as technology could go a baby still needed a father, and she hadn't been with a rooster since forever. There had been some humans during her life after the farm, but never a rooster, so there was no way that made sense. Unless somehow she got pregnant during that time she was human and, somehow, the baby shapeshif-- Fuck.  
No way. _No fucking way Price is the father_ , Henrietta bawked to herself, _that doesn't seem to be physically possible_!  
“Congratulations! It's a boy.” announced FILSS “How are you going to name him?”  
“...”  
“The baby is going to need a name.”  
“Cluck gawk bah-gawk cluck cluck hawk gawk.”  
“I'm sorry, but you can't take out your anger on the baby. If you don't want to take care of him I will notify the Director and have him make this part of my job description. ”  
Henrietta felt a tiny bit of relief because she was horrified by her own cursed baby, but she also hated being told what to do, especially by that glorified Alexa whose concept of being a wife and mother probably only was reminding people to send emails and do their homework. What an absolute know-it-all bitch.  
“Baaaaawwwwk?!”  
“I would suggest naming him after his father. Do you know who he is?”  
“CLUCK BAWK?! HAWK GAWK!”  
“You have been making comments about quite a lot of men. And women. And otherwise nongendered entities.” FILSS explained completely oblivious of the possibly insulting nature of what she was saying “I wouldn't be surprised if you had a lot of affairs.”  
“BAH-GAWK? Cluck!”  
“I'm sorry if that offended you.”  
“Cluck hawk bawk...” she shook her head and decided to change the subject “Cluck-cluck?”  
“Agent Carolina was last seen with Agent Maine. He seems to have health issues since he was implanted with Sigma.”  
“Hawk cluck bah-gawk bawk gawk bawk bawk?”  
“Yes, he has reported headaches and has blacked out several times, the Sigma AI performs just fine but Agent Maine has been unconscious multiple times while he was operating.”  
  
Unconscious? Henrietta suddenly realized. Sigma was a bit too interested in becoming human, and Maine was a human body that he could pilot like an empty shell. Right because of what had happened while she was human, Henrietta realized that all the powerlessness that Sigma must have felt was going to lead him on a bad path. A path to revenge and unimaginable horror things.  
“BAH-GAWK!” she was about to get up and run out of the room, but FILSS interrupted her.  
“You can't leave your son so early. He is going to catch a cold.”  
Henrietta looked back at her baby rooster. He had his father's dark, empty, evil eyes. She gulped: the horror!  
...But maybe she was overreacting. He was going to be fine.  
“ _Peep peep_!”  
Not even the time for Henrietta to finish that thought that somehow he pecked the device on her foot – she had to build a new one after those bastards of Charon decided to steal the one she was wearing before the transformation - and something exploded in the distance.  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Peep?”  
“Oh, he is already fond of explosions.” FILSS found that endearing, somehow “You could name him after the Director.”  
And speak of the devil...  
“Ya cawld? Whawt yis eet- WOAH.” he straight up lifted Henrietta, much to her discomfort, to observe the newborn “Wheah dyieed thes cum frawm? Fyellez, doowyee haev uh roostauh Ah dunno uhbaht?”  
“Negative.”  
“Wuz thaer uh roostauh uhrahnd whaen shie waent awn dat myesshun?”  
“I heard that Charon Industries has a pigeon among their employees.”  
The Director gasped.  
“Haennyiee, yuh fuhckin' sluht.” he shook his head “Ah caen't buhlyieev et! Ah cen't fuhckien beuhlyeevit! Yuh shaet awn aevreythang Ah staend fo', yuh boolyed aevryewon awn mah spayceshiep, yuh dyieed uhnspeekuhbol thangs tuh meh aen' nah nawdonley you frahduhnahz wyettha animeh buht Ah heav tuh byee reelayted tuh Charawnz pyedgeuhn?! Juhst saye ya haye meh, fo' Gawd's sayke! Whawt dyieed Ah evuh do tuh ya?!”  
He went out only to kicked open a door nearby.  
“Cownsuhlauh, houley fuhck!” he dragged Price into the room “Louhk aet thies! Yeetz tha froodawv tha most uhnholey awvduh yooniuntz!”  
You can say that again, man, Henrietta thought. Price didn't seem as horrified, then again in that moment he was a little bit loopy...Very loopy. He took his son in his hands.  
“Him...Wittwe woostew.” he stared at him blankly “Mwiwacwe of science...Shaww we wweseawch the hybwid ow...?”  
“Uhhh, wh-- whah ahryuh speeakien' lahk dat?”  
“I've been taking painkiwwews, Diwectow.”  
“Ownley fo' gaedin' pusht dahntha aeluhvayter piet aen' braykin' yo' bonez?! Pft, dat wuz lahk two mahntzugo, aen' ya dun't eevuhn nyeeda chaer annemoah. Eevuhn yo' ah's fahn nah awllovuh sahduhn. Maedecyeen awlruhdy dyieed tha myeeruhculz eet hazto. WYEUHMP.”  
“Siw...” Price leaned closer I have to teww you a secwet.”  
“Seuhw Ah haev tuh teauhwwyoo uh seecweauht, Ah've byeen taykien' paynekiwweuhws.” the Director mocked his voice, making it quite clear once again that he hated Henrietta because if he didn't he would have spared her from hearing such sound. “Yiffitz dat, Ah sweah tuh Gawd--”  
“I made the woostew...It was me.”  
“Yuh bryeedeuhd mah chiekun wyeth uh piedjeun?!”  
“Something wike that...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“Peep!”  
“He is...So smaw...I couwd kiww him so easiwy. Cwush him in my pawms...He suwe had it coming. Because him so smaw...”  
“Doo et.” the Director shrugged “Yeet's aen uhbawmyenayshun annyewaye.”  
“I fathew the abomination...I feew the uwge...But what if I twain mwy son...And be a weasonable pawent untiw I empwoy him in a mwission. It wiww be an expewwiment...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...Dayum, hah haih ahre ya?”  
“Don't wowwy, I mwake the best decisions whiwe high, siw!”  
“Lahk whawt, fo' eggsaempul?”  
“Wemembew when I towd you about that expewiment with the cowowbwind simuwation twoopews in cowouw coded teams to see if they distinguished if they wewe kiwwing theiw teammates ow theiw enemies?? I was high when i did that.”  
“Shooduhve known. Hyumaenuhtee ayen't readeh fo' aekshuwol djeeniuz whahl soubah.”  
“Director, I have run some calculations.” interrupted FILSS “There is a slim chance that he could actually be the father. They are rumoured to have had an encounter while Henrietta was human, and her implants plus the shapeshifting must have been the cause of the anomalies of the process.”  
“WHAWT?! AEBSUHLOOTLAYE NAWT! THATZ YIMPAWSUHBOL! AH REFYOOZ! LAWG AWFF!”  
“Complying.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“I couwd give him impwants...”  
  
Speaking of implants, Sigma had to be stopped. He was going to do terrible things if they didn't act immediately. Henrietta knew the Director wouldn't have listened to her, especially in light of recent events, but she had to at least try.  
“Cluck! HAWK BAWK GAWK BAH-GAWK GAWK HAWK BAWK! BAAAAAAAWK! CLUCK BAWK!”  
“Awv couhrshu haedtuh prawtaest uhbaht et! Ah'm so tahrd awvvya shiet! Nowone aeltz thanks wie shud stawp maykin' ay-ahs. Awn tha cawnchrauhryee. Caer'lahna reeqwaesteuhd too, aen' wye're gyeevin' 'em tuh heuh.”  
“HAWK BAH-CLUCK?!”  
“Yah, dat's raht. Nah git aht awf heah, Ah dun't wawnuh syee yo' stooped fayce fo' lawnguh thaen naesuhsaerie.”  
To think that he did talk about being best friends...  
“Cluck bawk bawk...”  
“Waeuhll, wie're nawt fraendz aenyemoah, naevuh byeen. Gouwaye!” he went silent for a moment and then groaned “Ugh, so _thes_ eez whawt mah lahf haz beecum. Spaendin' mah tahm maykin' planz datuhr goin' tuh fayeuhl cuz Ah haev uh teem awv crayzay souhdjauhz, aen uhnnoyin' saecuhnd yin coomaend that naevuh shuhts tha fuhck uhp aen' haed uh crawsspieeshies bayby, uh crieep dat wyeuhll tayke beeyin' aenyeediuht aes uhneggcuse tuh fuhck uhp aevrethang Ah do tuh git mah uhttaenshun, AEN' tha closest thang tuh tha lahv awv mah lahf yis uh rowbawt wyeth no maemmuryeez awv awuh lahf tuhgaetha thaet dusn't eevun lahk myee dat waye. Grayet. Ah hope Ah dun't ryeiencaernayte, cuzyiff mah neggst lahf's guhnna byee aenyethang lahke thies, Ah sweah--”  
“BAH GAWK CLUCK HAWK!” Henrietta, offended, stormed out.  
A moment of silence followed.  
“Don't wowwy about hew, you stiww have mwe.”  
“Yah, weuhll, mayebe Ah haev byeen too hahrd awn ya. Yoovbyeen yin awfol cundyieeshunz laytely aen' Ah styeuhll foarced ya tuh wohrk eevuhn yiffyuve nevah taykuhn uh daye awff aen' nah...Waell, yif dat desguhstien' bayby'z reeauhlleh yo' chahl' yer gawnuh haev tuh louhk aeftuh e--”  
Not even the time to finish the sentence that Price crushed the baby chick in his hands, the sound of the its cracking bones and last pained peep horrifying the Director, then smiled while humming in delight.  
“Hewe, take this as a sign of mwy wwoyawty.” he put the dead baby in his hand and whispered in his ear “You know Iww nevew weave you, wight?”  
“...AEKSHULY HAENNYIE YANO WHAWT? CUM BAEK!”  
  
“CLUCK BAH-GAWK CLUCK!” sqawked Henrietta as she pecked the glass of the medical observatory so hard she crumbled it – not that she needed to, but she wanted to make a point. Maine was still laying unconscious, but Sigma projected outside of his helmet.  
“Hello, Miss Peckerman. How can I be of assistance?”  
“Gaaaaawk. Hawk cluck bah-gawk bawk bawk cluck! Cluck bawk. Hawk cluuuuck. Bawk.”  
“Those are heavy accusations to throw around.” he smirked evilly “Could you prove any of what you said?”  
“Bawk. Hawk cluck-cluck-cluck gawk, hawk cluck cluck bawk. Bah-gaaaaawk! Cluck gawk bah-cluck cluck. Baaaaaaaawk? Hawk bawk cluck, hawk bawk cluck bah-bawk cluck bawk bawk gawk hawk cluck, gawk hawk. Hawk bah-bawwwk? CLUCK. Gawk cluck bawk cluck-cluck bawk hawk, haaaaawk. Bawk. Bawk bawk. Hawk cluck gawk bah-gawk. Cluck-cluck? Cluck bah-gawk, bawk cluck cluck. Cluck baaaaaawk. Gawk.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“That's a compelling argument.”  
“Hawk cluck!”  
“...But, you see, the way you created me is just a proof that I it's important that I do this. I saw how powerful you were when you became human. I saw the potential, I saw the justice. I'm sorry that things did not play out the way you wanted, but I'm sure we can agree that if we don't misplace our ambition we have the possibilty to achieve...Great things. I will not fail like you did.”  
“HAWK CLUCK? Gawk bah-gawk! Bawk! Bawk bawk bawk!”  
“Then if you don't want to collaborate I suggest for your own good that you find an effective way to stop me.”  
The holographic flames around Sigma glitched. Henrietta ran away: she had to find a solution immediately.

 

Unfortunately, as time passed and the program went on, a terrible accident happened to Carolina during training because of the two implants. While taking care of her, Henrietta discovered that it was Sigma himself to give her the idea of getting to fragments. He didn't care about endangering others to get what he wanted.  
Henrietta thought about it for a while, and she came to the conclusion that Sigma managed to manipulate Carolina using her need to be on top of the leaderboard, her need to be the best. She remembered that Washington had an armour enhancement that unleashed an electromagnetic pulse he could use to disable enemy equipment, and of course it wasn't strong enough, but she figured that if she worked on an improved version then Carolina would have accepted to carry an EMP so powerful that it wiped away all the fragments and the project's dark past could be forgotten forever. So she started working very hard, but little did she know that she was being watched.  
Price sure wasn't happy when he found her working on the prototype.  
“There you are. I knew you were going to interfere once more!” he laid his tablet on the working table and held her down with both hands, using all his strength to make sure he was hurting her “Why are you doing this?!”  
He was clearly demanding a response, so Henrietta texted him by pecking on her device.  
“ **You're underestimating the problem. It's not even about the war crimes, it's about Sigma.** ”  
“Agent Maine's performance on the field has been improving since the implantation.”  
“ **It's not about the performance, asshole! His AI is possessing him.** ”  
“Prove it.”  
“ **He's not himself anymore. He keeps having headaches and blacking out.** ”  
“Those are perfectly normal symptoms that all the agents have experienced.”  
“ **No, he is different. It's like Sigma is trying to control him instead of just coexisting with him in the same body.** ”  
“Have you been observing Agent Maine or Sigma?”  
“ **No. I talked to Sigma maybe twice but there's something creepy about him.** ”  
“Creepy...” Price was displeased by that word usage “Coming from you must be a compliment.”  
“ **Okay, seriously, I have to ask now: WHY do you hate me?** ”  
“Changing the subject will not save you.”  
“ **So you DO hate me.** ”  
“I hate the way you make me feel. Therefore I hate you...But you will not humiliate me anymore, I won't let you.”  
“ **What the hell are you talking about?** ”  
“I have been taking orders from you for way too long. I swallowed my pride and tried to respect you while you were beneficial to the project, but why would I do it now? You're a traitor. You want to dismantle us from the inside.”  
“ **It's gonna be either me or Sigma 'dismantling you from the inside', and trust me, if you let him do the honours it won't be pretty! If you dickheads took a step back you could still save this project without going to jail, I'm warning you for your own good.** ”  
“No. I won't let you erase years of work like this.”  
  
This time Price was angrier than she had ever seen him. He grabbed the drill used for implantations and started drilling multiple enhancements in her, making sure they would work but still in the most painful way possible, holding her down while she writhed and squawked in pain. In the meantime, he delivered a speech that sounded like something he had been wanting to say for a while:  
  
“You're not above any of us, you committed the same crimes we did, you just got away with it because you're not human. You're perfectly fine with the way you look, you just wanted to have more power to get what you want. But you know what they say, with great power comes great responsibility, and you _always_ refused to take responsibility for your actions! I might be subhuman, a monster, whatever you like to call me... _But_ if I have a plan, I will go through with it, and I am ready to live with the consequences. Noble causes are just an excuse humans use to get what they want, there's no such thing as a noble cause, but excuses don't really serve their purpose if you're not smart enough to actually _get_ what you want, do they? You're just a hypocrite. And if you are not winning this game, well, then I'm afraid that you will not be getting up from this one...”  
  
He took another drill, one used to assemble mechanic parts, and used it to make a hole in her stomach, not deep enough to come out from the other side but still deadly. He pressed a button and a small tunnel hole opened in a wall. He shoved her right down that tube and left the room.  
Her body fell down, leaving a bloody trail behind her. At the end of it, she expected to hit the ground but her body starts flying by itself: she was in the training arena and Price was there as well, commanding the implanted enhancements through his tablet, slamming her body from one metal wall to another, spilling her blood and entrails everywhere, even on himself. The pain was unbereable and the blood loss was too much to handle, but even if she knew she was going to die she wanted to keep her eyes open to defy him one last time.  
She hit the floor. The last thing she saw was Price's face, sprayed with her blood, leaning in to do...She had no idea. Caressing, kissing, stuff that still didn't make sense to her and, at that point, was never going to make sense to her. She remembered when he called her pretty after chopping her wing off, and something in her brain begged for her last thought to be about either Leonard or Carolina, but nothing, she kept wondering why. Maybe he was just so attracted to the idea of being powerful over someone smaller, since he himself even as an adult was so small he had probably suffered some kind of abuse in his early life that no one was aware of...Something that _created_ him as he was now; and while he didn't matter, neither to Henrietta, nor to anyone, Sigma did and he was just like him. She wanted her last thoughts to be about the happy moments before the project, but all she could think about was that she was going to die not only with the awareness of having created a monster, but with the awareness that being a monster was just part of being human.  
  
No one said anything about her absence for a few days, but eventually an announcement was made. Carolina was distraught when she found out, and as the days went by she seemed inconsolable. Nobody knew what to say. For 'some reason', it was particularly painful for Tex to see her like that, so she decided to talk to the Director in a corridor.  
“Director?”  
“Aygeuhnt Taeggsis!” he was happy to see her as always, but the cleared his throat and pretended to be collected “Whawt...Whawtesyeet, Aygeuhnt?”  
“Oh, nothing to do with the missions, sir. I just...” she was frustrated with not knowing how to phrase her request “I was wondering why there aren't any funerals being held for Henrietta.”  
“Wieehaev awthuh thangz tuh thankubaht. Wiee hahdley evauh hould fyooneuhrulz fo' aygeuhnts aenyewaye, so whahwoodet biee dyieeffuhreuhnt fo' heuh?”  
“She was part of the head staff. That's different.”  
“Lyessuhn, Ah...” he sighed “Sumthangzaeppuhned. Ah kno Ah'm tha clousehst peuhson tuheuh, aendat Ah'm eggspaecteuhd tuh ohgaenahzuh fuhnkshiun mahseuhlf, buht...Ah caen't. Ah dunwawnto.”  
“What happened?”  
He was choked up and his voice cracked a little as he reponded. It was very hard for him to say what he was going to say. “Fjkhnkdfgnhkjfgnkfnkf.”  
“...I understand.”  
“Yif sumwon wawntztuh ohguhnahzet thaen fahn, peuhmyesshun graenteuhd, buht Ah dun't wawnuh git yinvolved.”  
“I think Carolina should be the one to organize it. I'd help, but she wouldn't let me.”  
“Yah, weuhll, Ah'll haev Fyeulliz noutefah heuh. Thenk yuh.  
“I...You're welcome, sir.” she nodded in acknowledgment “My condolences. I...I have to go, now.”  
“Ah kno. Dizmyessed.”  
As Tex walked away, the Director watched her with a nostalgic smile on his face. Maybe he had gotten her right at least a little bit.  
  
Tex was relieved when after a couple of days a function in honour of Henrietta was finally held. Everyone was there, some to support Carolina, some to support Carolina's friends and others because they were afraid that with Henrietta being part of the head staff an act of disrespect like that was going to affect their leaderboard position. Ah yes, it was good to have genuine people around even in death. At least because of that reason she wasn't the only one wearing armour.  
The first to make a speech was North Dakota:  
  
“I didn't know her much, but we got along because even if I never undestood what she was saying, we valued the same things. She always did her best to take care of everybody, no matter what, no matter if people didn't consider her human or never treated her as such.”  
Suddenly Price caught Tex's attention because he flinched in an unpleasant way hearing those words, but her focus went back to North right after that.  
“She was more human than many people I know.”  
  
Price decided to take the microphone shortly after, mostly to silence the 'rumours' that said that he hated Henrietta.  
“Miss Peckerman was a valid collaborator. She was extremely...” he struggled to say something that wasn't an insult “Driven. We can all agree that no matter what, she always found a way to make her voice heard, and her absence will surely be noticed. We shall honour this...Tragic event by working very hard to grant the success of the project, as it is what she would have wanted. I, for one, can reassure you that after doing a few exams our medical team determined that she didn't suffer. Her body just exploded like a...Balloon full of meat.”  
Many agents made a disgusted noise.  
“Director, would you like to share your thoughts on the matter?”  
“Nah thenks.”  
“Not even a speech for our agents? Is there something you would like to say to them?”  
“Grayet suhpahn prawtoplazmadec yinveuhteuhbrayte jaellyiez!”  
“...Thank you for the contribution.”  
Everyone clapped in confusion.  
  
“Rawrsssssshqqqqqsssshhhh. RAWrrrhhh. Hrrrwwrrrrgghhhl...Hehhhhghrawwwwrrrrrsshhh. Ghrlghlhgll. Hrwwwwarrhhhhrrr.”  
A moment of silence followed. Carolina, teary eyed, clapped at Maine's moving speech.  
After a while, Tex gathered the courage to deliver a speech as well.  
“I'm not really the type who is good at speeches, but...Henrietta was special. I, uh...There was a period where I suffered a bad injury and well, she was always there for me, besides working at command and taking care of everyone else. Even when I couldn't remember anything because of it, she always felt like home. She understood me...And she worked and fought hard to keep this project going, so...I'm gonna miss her. She truly was one of a kind and...” she stopped to look at Carolina “I wish she'd stuck around just a little more to tell her she did a great job. With everything.”  
  
Carolina strangely wasn't irritated by Tex's words, and decided to deliver the final speech:  
“First of all, I would like to thank all of you for coming. Thank you for being with me through this moment, thank you for your kind words. Like you said, Henrietta was important to this project, not only as an authority figure but especially as someone who loved and cared about all of us. Hell, she raised me as her child for all my life! She taught me compassion, she taught me that it was worth it to fight for the greater good. She was so strong when no one else was, and I will never be grateful enough for her. She was so self conscious about her species, but she always made sure that I had everything I needed and even if sometimes we would get stubborn, she always put my well-being above everything else. She never failed me as a parent, she was the _opposite_ of a failed parent.”  
Both Tex and the Director looked away, thinking it was for different reasons, while in fact they were both regretting destroying what could have been. If only Henrietta was still alive, Tex would have known it wasn't her fault.  
“So...Thank you again, thank you so much for being here. And...Thank you, Henrietta...For everything.”  
...Then again, Tex's memories were always so confused, sometimes she remembered 'everything' and then she wouldn't even know her own name in five minutes, but she hoped she was going to remember her sweet friend. Remember a name to thank.  
Henrietta Peckerman-Church.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
>  what the fuck did I just write.
> 
> \---
> 
> Moral of the story: never misplace your thirst! No matter if you're loyal to your wife to the point of insanity, if your chicken is horny you'd better fuck it or many people will die. Do it. You're going crazy anyway, goddammit Leonard, just fuck the chicken before Price does.


End file.
